Love
by Wendy402
Summary: According to the Oxford, Merriam-Webster and Collins dictionary, love means "a strong feeling of affection." A simple definition for a simple word. But I can bet no normal person will be able to have as complicated of a love story as this one.
1. Prologue

**Yay new story! Who voted for this on the poll on my profile? I was secretly hoping this story will win, and I'm so glad it did! Damn I've got like, what? Three (well, _technically _four) stories I still need to update and I'm already starting another one! I'm _never_ gonna finish them! Nah just kidding. :P I'll try my best with this story so I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

_11 years._

It's already've been 11 years. Time sure flies.

Mikan sighed for the nth time that very morning. It was 7:30 in the morning, beautiful weather with the perfect temperature, but her whole being felt very annoyed.

It was another day of school, the start of another boring year.

A crowd of loud students—mostly freshman—gathered around the noticeboard nailed in front of the school gates for their new classrooms, their new classmates, their new teachers.

Mikan Sakura did not need to fight her way through the bustling crowd; she already knew her classroom.

Class 2B of the high school section.

She's been stuck in that classroom ever since she transferred into Gakuen Alice 10 years ago for lower school. It's already a quote around the student body that 'once you become a member of class 2B, you stay as one.' That class was always on the top of rumors, gossips and hottest news. It was a class full of troubling students.

Of course, Mikan never knew exactly _why _she was in that class in the first place; she wasn't particularly smart, never did anything illegal and never even broke any of the school rules. Not even once.

The hallways were unusually quiet with all the students outside hogging the noticeboard. Her steps echoed off the walls with loud clanks, the sun rays dappled the grounds with beautiful shades of yellow, pale pink, scarlet and sapphire.

Pulling at the hem of her tan plaid skirt, making sure it wasn't _too_ short—as it was growing inconveniently short, only just reaching her mid-thighs—before she opened the large oak doors to her classroom with a loud creak from their age.

She was greeted by a whirlwind of noise, as most of her classmates were already here. She inwardly scoffed at herself; no one in class 2B needs to look at the noticeboard anyways.

"Mikan-chan!" Immediately spotting her friends near the back of the room, Mikan let out her usual cheerful smile, walking over with a wave.

"Hey guys." She greeted, dropping her back on the back of her usual seat before pulling over a chair and sitting next to a small table her friends made by aligning desks together.

"You okay?" Anna Umenomiya asked, wrinkling her nose a little at the sound of Mikan's tired voice.

"Yeah," Nonoko Ogasawara chimed in. "You sound exhausted." Mikan gave a small smile before laying on the desks.

Hotaru Imai sat silently, tinkering with yet another piece of metal.

"I don't think I got enough sleep last night." She sighed exasperatedly. "Besides, he didn't wait for me..._again._" The two girls nodded knowingly as Hotaru seemed to pause at whatever she was doing, before the door slammed open.

"Ugh." Sumire groaned as she sat down next to the four girls, not forgetting to smoothen her skirt first before sitting.

"Went to the board _again, _Permy?" Nono asked with a small giggle, and the two girls joined in; Hotaru merely sighed. Sumire answered with a huff as she curled her perfectly permed hair with a perfectly manicured finger.

"First of all, don't call me that. How many times do I have to _tell _you girls? Second of all, I just don't _get_ it." She said with annoyance. "Why the hell am I stuck _here? _Me! Sumire Shouda! The prettiest girl alive, the queen of fashion!" She yelled outrageously and the three girls humored her with a halfhearted nod.

"Queen Bee's bitching again." Hotaru whispered under her breath, just enough for Anna, Nono and Mikan to hear. Sumire was too busy talking highly of herself anyways.

"Well, you _know _that those who enter class 2B never get out until they either go to jail or graduate." Anna stated, earning a grumble from the emerald haired girl.

"I think it's about _time_ someone changed that tradition?" She crossed her arms in frustration.

"Yeah," Mikan scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Guys!" A male student ran into the room, a lopsided grin plastered on his face. "There's a new teacher for our class!" Questions, squeals, and curious conversations erupted inside the classroom, almost half the students gathered around the male.

"Didn't _any_ of you read the noticeboard?" He asked disbelievingly.

"You did." Mikan said to Sumire. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't see anything about a new _teacher._" She reasoned. "I was just looking at the column with the classrooms."

"Ugh." Anna and Nono mumbled. "You're so _useless_ sometimes." Sumire clutched her heart over dramatically, feigning hurt.

"Shush! Shush!" Yuu Tobita—or Iinchou, as most students called him—called furiously over the ruckus of the students. "Everyone, please get back into your seats!" Not even a second later the bell rang, signaling the start of school.

Everyone sat in their seats impatiently as they waited for their so called 'new teacher' to show up.

"Whoever the new teacher is," Hotaru mumbled. "He's already 1 minute and 31.6 seconds late."

"Maybe sensei got caught up with something. First day of work?" Mikan whispered back, since she was sitting right behind her and therefore could hear everything the female was saying.

"It's _because_ it's the first day of work, sensei should be on time." Hotaru argued back before clear footsteps were heard outside the closed classroom doors.

The doors were opened gracefully, and slowly, as if the person on the other side of the door had all the time in the world.

Gasps, whispers and quiet squeals were heard when the new teacher walked in leisurely, setting his books on his desk softly.

"Oh. My. God." Mikan breathed in disbelief as her eyes grew wide with surprise.

"What?" The three girls that sat around her asked with hushed voices. "You know him?"

She didn't answer as she kept her gaze on the new teacher, who also had his eyes trained on her.

Oh _hell _she knew him.

* * *

**I want to make something clear: this story is just to _test_ it's popularity. Which means this will be on hiatus for a while (though it _is_ an official story I will continue to write) and I will not be updating this for quite a while unless I am persuaded otherwise. I've written this up quite a while ago, and finally decided to post this because for _me_, I really like how I wrote the first chapter and I'm hoping this story will become popular. I don't think I'll have the time to be continuously updating _five_ different stories, so again, unless I am persuaded otherwise that I _should_ continue updating this as quickly as possible, I won't.**

**Hopefully you guys like this story though. :D**

**R&amp;R Please!**


	2. The Truth

**Yes, I've finally decided to update. Actually, I've been _dying _to update this, but I get a little uncertain when I click onto my account and find all my other stories still in-progress. It's probably going to take me centuries to finish all of them. I hate new ideas. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

* * *

_"They say love hides behind every corner, I must be walking in circles."_

* * *

"It's so cold." A middle-aged women muttered as she shivered slightly, rapping her pale pink shawl a little tighter around herself as she came down the stairs. "Dear, could you turn the heater on higher?"

Her husband hummed in reply as he searched for the remote. Their two children lay on the sofa, fast asleep with a fluffy, yellow blanket keeping them warm.

It was just a normal winter night for all of them, spending the weekend shopping and eating and having fun.

That is, until an unexpected knock came on the door.

The two toddlers stirred at the sound while their parents gave each other a surprised look, wondering who it could be at this time of the night, especially since it's so cold out.

"I'll go get the door." The women announced, giving her children a peck on the forehead as she passed by, and they laid back down, relaxed.

An icy wind blew against her face the second she opened the door, and she shivered at the contact. She hadn't realized it was already snowing.

Looking left and right, she saw no one, just the endless chains of houses in their neighborhood, illuminated by the numerous street lamps on the street curb.

"Hello?" She called, her voice drifting off into the distance. Suddenly, she felt a small tug at the hem of her shirt. Bewildered, she looked down only to find a small child, covered in dirt and shivering from the cold.

"Oh my god." She whispered to herself as she quickly bent down to take the child into her arms despite the dirt, and the child curled up against her immediately. The poor thing was so small, so thin, and so cold. Her heart broke just looking at it.

"Dear," the women called to her husband and he made his way over quickly, hearing the alert in her voice. "There's a child at our doorstep."

"What?" He asked, unsure he heard correctly. He peered over her shoulder, and sure enough, an unknown child was in her arms, staring back at him with large, innocent eyes.

"There's no one else," the women said. "It's so cold out, we can't just let it freeze to death."

"But we can't just _take it in._" The man replied, massaging his temples at the sudden turn of events. "We already have two children of our own!"

"Well, I'm not going to let the poor child die." The women said with finality. "We're keeping it." Shifting under her intense gaze, her husband had no choice but to agree. Happy with the response, she made her way up the stairs and to their bedroom with the child safe in her arms. She set the child down on the ground and told it to take a shower, showing it where the bathroom was. Then, after searching and setting down some clothes on the bed, she made her way back down to carry her own kids to their room.

"The child looks so frail," the women said as she walked back down the stairs, all three children asleep. "I think we should take it to the hospital for a body check."

"It's in the middle of the night, sweetie. Let's take it tomorrow." Her husband thought for a moment before grimacing. "The kids still don't know about this."

"Yeah," his wife nodded in agreement. "We'll have to sort everything out tomorrow."

* * *

There was definitely something wrong with Mikan, the three girls thought for the nth time that very day; plus Hotaru that really didn't care, but was also getting a little pissed off by her unusual attitude.

She's been silent—_silent!_—the entire day ever since homeroom with the new teacher. Well, the teacher was definitely _hot_, and it would have made sense if Mikan was acting all weird because she felt attracted to him like most of the female population of the school…but no. Her 'weird' wasn't like that. It was the 'why-the-fuck-are-you-here' and 'get-the-fuck-out-of-here' kind of vibe that made the girls even more confused than they already were.

They definitely knew each other, Mikan and that teacher. It was obvious, the way she acted when she saw him, the way they looked at each other for the briefest moment when he called her name, not to mention, the way she acted the _entire day_ because of him.

Anna, Nono, Sumire, and, occasionally, Hotaru have been trying to pry something from her all day, but she was as stubborn as a freaking boulder and kept her mouth screwed shut, which was _very _unusual for Mikan Sakura.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Sumire asked her friends the twentieth time.

"I think we should give her some time." Nono said as they glanced at Mikan who sat in front of them for english class.

"I'm not much of a patient person." Hotaru grunted in disapproval, shooting her infamous glare at the back of her best friend's poor head.

"No shit." Sumire rolled her eyes at the violet eyed girl.

"Shush guys, it's in the middle of class." Anna butted in, putting a finger to her lips. The three glared at her and she raised her brow at them. "What? We can gang up on her in five minutes."

"That's true…" Nono nodded, looking up at the clock that was hanging over the whiteboard.

"She better be prepared for my Tickle Rope and the Lollipop of Truth." Hotaru muttered evilly under her breath and the three girls gave each other uncertain glances.

"Both those names sound ridiculous, but thinking of their effects gives me the chills." Sumire shivered in her chair at the wicked aura Hotaru was giving off.

And so, they watched impatiently as the second hand ticked on, as slowly as ever. Why is it that boring classes always pass by the slowest, especially right before the end of school?

Ten seconds…

Sumire drummed her manicured fingers against her wooden desk impatiently.

Five…

Four…

The girls already started packing up their things silently, trying not to get caught by the teacher.

Three…

Two…

Anna and Nono mouthed the numbers, eyes glued to the clock.

One…

They almost cheered as the school bell finally rang, signaling the end of school. Jumping out of their seats in a hurry to drag Mikan to a isolated corner of the school, they turned to find…

…Mikan Sakura already gone.

"What?" Anna asked in surprise at the empty desk right in front of them.

"Who knew she could be so fast?" Sumire massaged her temples in irritation.

"Ok, ok." Nono tried to calm them down, grimacing at the sight of Hotaru sitting there as calmly as ever, like the beginning of a massive storm. "Think, guys, think. Where could she be right now?"

"Uh…" Sumire stared at the dark-haired girl. "Home?"

"Most likely, I guess." Anna sighed.

"Hey guys!" All of them, excluding the ever calm Hotaru, jumped at the voice that didn't belong to any of them. "Where would you most likely find a teacher?"

"Mikan!" Anna squeaked. "We thought you went home already." Nono and Sumire nodded in agreement, staring at the brunette, dumbfounded.

"Oh, well…I…uh…kinda didn't understand the science homework so…" Mikan laughed awkwardly.

"But…" Nono stared at her uncertainly. "We didn't _have_ science homework." Bewildered, Mikan's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.

"Oh, o-of course! I meant…uh…I meant…" She racked her brain for something to say as the four girls stared at her with great suspicion. "Just—Just, where would you most likely find a teacher?"

"In their classroom?" Anna suggested.

"I checked, wasn't in there." Mikan replied with a sigh of disappointment.

"In the faculty office, perhaps?" Hotaru offered with mock sweetness as if she was talking to an extremely stupid kid.

"The faculty office." Mikan repeated to herself quietly. "Of course! Thanks so much, Hotaru!" She tried to give Hotaru a bear hug, but being one that dislikes physical contact, Hotaru took out her infamous Baka Canon from under the desk with the speed of lightning.

"Um…" Mikan backed away slowly as Hotaru pointed the deadly weapon right at her face. "Thanks anyways, Hotaru. It's ok if you don't want a hug." Then she turned to leave.

"You guys don't need to wait for me; go on home without me." She called back and the four girls gave each other wicked grins after Mikan disappeared behind the door. Mikan is really too naive to think that they would give up the chance to spy on her.

This is definitely going to be interesting.

* * *

The school hallways were definitely not the best place for four girls to follow their friend secretly. The good thing is that Mikan is completely oblivious to her surroundings; sometimes a little _too_ oblivious.

They followed her all around the school campus, through the buildings, to the school garden, and then back into the building.

"You think she knows where the faculty office is?" Sumire asked uncertainly as they hid behind a plant.

"I thought she did," Nono whispered. "But now I'm not so sure."

"What do you think? It's been almost twenty minutes since school ended and she still hasn't found the place." Hotaru grumbled in annoyance as she blew a leaf away from her face.

"Look!" Anna pointed. "She found it!"

"Took her long enough." Sumire rolled her eyes at the girl.

"You think she did it on purpose because she knew we were following her?" Nono asked and the three girls stared back at her. They took a moment to think about that possibility.

"Nah, she's too stupid." Hotaru answered and the other three didn't comment.

* * *

Sitting in front of the door to the faculty office, Hotaru pulled out a few random pieces of machinery that looked completely useless to the other three girls who were staring at her.

"Uh…Hotaru? What are you doing?" Anna asked, trying to keep her voice down.

"Watch." She stated simply as she put what looked like the bottom of a toilet pump on the wall before taking out a radio and arranging its' antenna.

"What exactly are you _doing?_" Sumire asked more fiercely. Hotaru didn't answer as she continued to adjust the antenna, turning and twisting it until they heard faint sounds and then full sentences.

"Wow." Nono whispered as they listened to exactly what they were saying inside the faculty office.

_"What are you _doing _here?" _ It was unmistakably Mikan's voice that spoke. There were no other voices or noise so they supposed she was alone with whoever she was talking to.

_"That's awfully rude to say to your teacher." _The voice that spoke was unfamiliar, and sounded deep, rich and even a little husky.

_"Teacher! Ha! Of all the things in the _world_ you could do, of all the schools in the country you could choose from, you just _had _to choose this one. Why?" _Mikan sounded pretty pissed on the radio, the girls thought as they gave each other glances.

_"Oh? And why _not _here? It's close by and has easy transportation. Why would I want to go anywhere else?" _The voice sounded teasing.

_"Because I don't _want _you here! Leave!" _Mikan was full out screaming now, and they had to turn the radio's volume down so no one else would hear.

_"Well, I'm sorry. No one asked for your opinion, and even if someone _did, I _certainly don't care about your opinion." _The person's tone became flat and serious, and the girls inwardly winced at the words.

"Ouch." Sumire whispered.

A soft sniff was heard and it occurred to the four that Mikan was actually crying in there.

_"Why are you always so mean to me?" _She asked in a shaky voice as she sniffed again. _"Do you really hate me so much? Are you trying to make my life a living hell? I don't want to be at school with you too!" _

"What does she mean by 'I don't want to be at school with you _too_?'" Nono asked in confusion. Anna and Sumire shrugged in response.

_"Look, I came here because they wanted me to keep an eye on you." _The voice sounded softer and gentler as he spoke, but his words only confused the girls even more.

_"I'm going to be just _fine _even if you don't teach here." _Mikan sniffed again, but seemed calmer now.

_"Now you're just being stubborn. Suck it up, would you? I'm not going to quit this job just because you want me to." _The person scolded. _"And if I really _do_ quit, you're gonna have to explain to them why I did so." _Mikan groaned at that.

The girls gave each other another glance.

_"Come on, wipe your eyes. I'm going to be nagged to death if they find out you've been crying." _Mikan let out a small laugh at what he said. _"I'll give you a ride home."_

"Shit!" Sumire cursed as they heard footsteps even without the radio. "They're coming out!"

"Hurry, hide!" Anna whispered harshly as they scrambled onto their feet as Hotaru removed her invention from the wall with great difficulty.

The door clicked open and the girls, in their haste, tripped on each other and fell in a tangled mess on the floor.

"Oh no," Nono cried. "We're never going to make it!"

"Guys?" They nearly jumped out of their skins at the familiar voice. They gave her an innocent smile as they lay, tangled, on the floor in front of the faculty office.

"Get _off_ of me." Hotaru demanded in her cold voice and the other three scrambled off her quickly, afraid of her wrath.

"Mikan," Hotaru's cold, violet eyes went from the nervous brunette to the male standing next to her. "Explain."

"Uh…well…I went to…uh…" Mikan fidgeted with her skirt as she tried to come up with something that would convince Hotaru and the rest.

"Don't try to think up a stupid lie. We heard everything you said in there." Sumire stood up and dusted off her skirt before standing right next to Hotaru, arms crossed against her chest. Anna and Nono followed their lead, demanding an explanation.

"I…we…um…" Finally, she sighed in surrender. "I'm sorry for trying to keep this a secret." The girls waited for her to continue. The male stood silent as he watched the five with great amusement.

"This is…uh…" She glanced at the male next to her, who lifted his brows in response. "This is…"

"For heaven's sake, girl!" Sumire screeched, her patience snapping. "Would you just _spit it out?_"

"Fine!" Mikan screamed, surprising all of them except Hotaru and the male. "You want the truth? Fine, I'll give you the truth!"

She stomped forward, spinning around on her heels and pointed almost accusingly at the male.

"This is my _brother,_ Natsume Hyuuga."

* * *

**Were you surprised? With this, the plot has finally started unraveling. _Started_ unraveling. As in, there's still a lot of things you, my lovely readers, don't know about yet. _Yet. _**

**Now, I want to take the time—er, space—here to thank those who have reviewed, favorited and followed from the first chapter. The names below are thanks to those who reviewed, because you guys are the best, and amazing, and have been supporting this as well as my other stories for quite a while now, so thank you so, so much. I think I would have quit this website if not for you guys. Haha! **

**\- StarElsie**

**\- ****BrimstoneButterfly **

**\- Ayame-hime 11d7**

**\- BlackMaskedBeauty**

**\- Dwmalove**

**\- AnimeMango**

**\- CrimsonPrincess14**

**\- Anilissa**

**\- Yoshida Haru**

**\- MarSette **

**\- HeartlessEffervescence**

**\- musicalgemstones**

**Don't you wish you reviewed last chapter? You get to have your pen name put on my story! Looks cool, doesn't it? If you're not on here, don't be too sad; if you continue to support me, I would know. I promise you guys, if you're still here by the time I finish this story, your pen name will be also be written on my story for the entire world to see how awesome you are, whether you reviewed, followed or favorited this story. Sound good? ;)**

**I feel like I just bribed you guys O.O But seriously, I hope you guys will continue supporting me. Comments, critics and suggestions are welcome! If you wanna flame, better do it with a real account and not as a guest (seen too many of those, don't even know who to reply to). I promise I won't swear at you ^.^**

**Please R&amp;R!**

* * *

**P.S**

**Omg I just realized like 10 minutes after I posted this that what I did in the author's note was _super similar to the second chapter of '_****_I Like You, Natsume-oniisan' by Crimson Knights. _Ok, I will admit that _yes,_ I got this idea from that story, which, by the way, I absolutely adore and I strongly recommend all of you to read it (but you might abandon my story once you do, so, internal conflict). BUT. But, that is not my only inspiration and I _promise_ all of you, that this story will be completely—well, I can guarantee most of it ****to be****—original. I haven't read a lot of stories on this topic, and I'm trying to do research but...eh...so if you see anything that 'looks plagiarized' please do not start going mad and give me a dozen reviews yelling at me for being a plagiarizer and a copier and whatnot. If you see something suspiciously intelligent that I would have never've thought of, please PM or review (NO FLAMES) and state that lines blah blah blah seems like it was copied from blah blah blah and ask me for an explanation. I will answer 100% of the time. **

**P.P.S**

**I seriously didn't know I did something so similar to '****_I Like You, Natsume-oniisan' _until just now. I swear.**


	3. Family

**Yay! I updated! Which means that I have finished my other story, Frozen Secrets. Please check it out if you have time! Detailed description is on my profile page! **

**Btw, I _do_ realize that 'Ioran' is _not _Mr. Hyuuga's real name. His name was never mentioned in the manga, and Ioran was a typo. However, it was too much of a pain to go and make a name up so I just used that. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :D**

* * *

_"Isn't it funny how people who said I'll never hurt you are the ones who hurt you the most?"_

* * *

"This is my _brother_, Natsume Hyuuga."

The whole world fell silent, only the ticking of the clock from the faculty office could be heard, echoing around the hallways in an endless song.

"B-Brother?" Sumire spoke first, eyes wide and mouth slightly open, unable to shake away the shock that pulsed through her entire being.

"Yes." Mikan confirmed softly, looking at the floor, deflating and losing all energy she had just a second ago.

"But that doesn't make sense." Anna furrowed her brows in confusion.

"B-Because…" Nono continued, catching onto what Anna was saying. "You're _Hyuuga-_sensei, aren't you?"

"And you're…" Anna looked at Mikan with wide eyes. "You're Mikan _Sakura, _right?"

The three girls looked absolutely horrified and so puzzled, a passerby would have laughed their heads off—but this was serious. This made no sense. There's _no way _they could be siblings…right?

But then again, Hotaru seemed completely fine with the information, staying as calm and composed as ever.

The three girls jumped slightly at a soundless laugh that left the male—Natsume's—lips. All of a sudden, all their attention turned towards their new teacher, Hyuuga-sensei.

"Mikan Sakura," he paused, his deep crimson eyes trained on them in the most amused and hypnotizing way, making their breath hitch, as he waited for their reaction, "Hyuuga."

"Wait…" Sumire tried to shake away the effects Natsume's gaze had on them. "I don't get it."

Hotaru sighed, giving Natsume a glance that obviously held a little annoyance. "Mikan Sakura Hyuuga. That's Mikan's full name."

"Sakura is your _middle name?_" Nono gasped in disbelief, the truth crushing over them and suffocating them like a giant boulder.

"I…" Mikan shook with emotion, though they couldn't tell what it was. "I didn't want anyone to know. That's why I requested my parents to tell the school that my name was Mikan Sakura."

"Why don't you want people to know though?" Anna asked, her voice dropping so it sounded softer and more comforting.

"Because…" It sounded like Mikan was tearing up as her voice cracked. "Because…"

"I think that's enough interrogating for today." Natsume quickly intervened as he put a hand on Mikan's shoulder. She covered her face with her hands, not wanting her friends to see her like this. "We need to get home soon before my parents beat me up for being late."

He gently led her away, his arm around her shoulders in a comforting, brotherly gesture. He glanced back at the girls one last time. "You guys should hurry home too. I don't want to get any complaints on keeping you guys so late at school."

Then they were gone.

Sumire slumped on Anna, her legs suddenly giving way.

"Well, _that_ was mind-blowing."

* * *

"We're home." Natsume called once they entered the door of the Hyuuga household.

Their sister, of course, was the first to greet them.

"Onii-chan, onee-chan, welcome home!" She squealed before jumping onto her big brother and squeezing the breath out of him.

"Aoi!" Natsume wheezed. "Get the hell off me!" He ripped her arms off his neck and pushed her away gently.

"Onii-chan's no fun!" Aoi pouted and stuck her tongue out at the male who grunted in disapproval, taking off his tie.

"Onee-chan~!" Aoi whined as she latched herself on Mikan's arm. "Natsume-nii's being _mean!_"

"Yeah." Mikan rubbed the top of Aoi's head affectionately giving a weak glare at Natsume who glared back before entering the living room. "Natsume-nii's been _really_ mean today."

"Really?" Aoi's eyes glistened in understanding. "What did he do _this_ time?"

"Well," Mikan sighed tiredly, taking off her shoes and entering the living room as well, Aoi tagging along closely. "He _intruded _my school today. Can you believe that?"

Aoi gasped in absolute horror at the news. "He _didn't._"

"He _did._" Mikan feigned tears. "I can't trust him anymore!"

"The _hell,_ Mikan?" Natsume's muffled voice boomed from upstairs. "I didn't fucking _intrude _your school, I went to _work._"

"At my school!" Mikan defended in a wail with Aoi eagerly nodding along, agreeing that her brother was indeed a jerk for going to Mikan's school.

"Who swore?" A beautiful middle-aged women asked as she came out from the kitchen, holding pot of steaming hot spaghetti. Immediately, both girls pointed upstairs. The women grinned mischievously as she nodded in understanding.

"Natsume, dear." She singsonged, loud enough for him to hear her from upstairs. "Were you the one using foul language in front of these two ladies?"

Natsume trudged downstairs with an annoyed face. "Did I hear _'ladies?' _Ma, you're eyesight must have deteriorated with your old age." A vein popped on the women's forehead.

"Did you just say 'bad eyesight?'" Her hair seemed to be flying as she let out an eerie smile. "And _'old age?''_"

Natsume seemed completely unfazed as he stood there, a head taller than her, with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed in amusement. "Yeah, I did." The ends of his lips tugged upwards slightly. "Old lady."

Then he ran.

"Natsume Hyuuga, you—" She screeched, attempting to run after him, but then a hand stopped her.

"Kaoru, just let him be. You're still holding the pot of spaghetti. If you spill it, what do you expect us to eat tonight?" Her husband sighed as he sat down in his seat. Giggling silently, the two girls raced upstairs and entered Mikan's bedroom.

Kaoru's husband, Ioran, sighed again. "You're too old to be playing with our kids like that."

The two sisters jumped in their room at the sound of something breaking downstairs. Not a minute later, Kaoru knocked onto their door and came in with a smile like nothing happened.

"Time for dinner, girls." Kaoru smiled again before going back downstairs. The two girls gave each other a glance before following their mother to the living room. Natsume was already sitting at the dinner table, calm and relaxed, but did not make eye contact with anyone.

The two girls cautiously took their seats, eyes darting between people, uncomfortable with the silence.

"Now then, let's eat!" Everyone dug into their food. No one dared to make a sound at the sight of a large bump on the top of Ioran's head, but started shaking as they tried extremely hard to keep in their laughter.

* * *

"Thanks for the food!" Mikan and Aoi yelled, patting their bulging stomachs satisfyingly. Aoi made her way to the couch, switching the channel to the newest TV show and Mikan made her way to her room, saying something about doing homework.

"Thanks for the food." Natsume mumbled before standing up and making his way to his room as well.

"Natsume, how was work?" Kaoru asked as she brought the dirty dishes to the kitchen. Her crimson eyes seemed to see right through him as she stared at him, making him slightly uncomfortable.

"It was ok." He answered simply. Kaoru's eyes flashed with suspicion, but did not press on further. She made her way to the kitchen with a soft 'is that so? That's good.'

* * *

Mikan plopped onto her bed and just lay there for a few moments, staring at nothing and thinking of nothing. All of a sudden, her thoughts drifted back to her day at school, and then slowly to that day eleven years ago.

_Ring!_

Mikan jumped slightly at the sound of her phone ringing next to her. Checking her screen to see who was calling, Mikan quickly smiled widely at the sight of Hotaru's name.

"Hello?"

_"It took you five rings." _Mikan sighed slightly. It's just like Hotaru to say that.

"Sorry~ So, why did you call? It's rare for you to call me first." She rolled over on her bed, lying on her stomach with her feet kicking the air.

_"I always knew you had a brother." _She heard Hotaru's nonchalant voice. _"And I knew he was older than you, but to think he would be our teacher."_

Mikan laughed softly. "Yeah…Well, I didn't even know about the teacher thing until he showed up. I only knew he was starting his job today."

_"Mikan." _She gulped at the seriousness of Hotaru's voice. _"You're hiding something from me, aren't you? Him being your brother is just one small part of it, isn't it?"_

Mikan's throat went dry. "I don't know what you're talking about."

_"I'm actually really impressed." _Hotaru continued without even the slightest pause. _"You were able to hide it from me all these years. I wonder why I haven't noticed. I guess even I make careless mistakes."_

"Hotaru." Mikan's voice quivered slightly, slightly. "I really don't know what you're talking about. I'm not hiding anything."

_"Lie all you want." _Hotaru's voice became stern, hard, and cold. _"You can lie to everyone in the whole world, even to yourself, but not me. I know you too well. And after seeing that guy…I'm sure. There's no mistaking it."_

There was a slight pause, and Mikan held her breath.

_"Listen," _she started slowly, _"you _will _be telling me what you're hiding. I'll force it out of you if I have to."_

Mikan did not answer as she closed her eyes, her breathing becoming shallow as a layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. Then finally, after a long pause Hotaru spoke again.

_"It's been too long." _Her voice softened. _"It's been too long, Mikan. I've known you for almost eight years now. I've always been watching you, and it's painful. It's like you're always bearing a terrible boulder on your shoulders and you're unwilling to share it with me. It's frustrating." _

Her voice dropped again, almost sadly._ "Please share it with me this time."_

Then she ended the call.

Mikan slowly lifted the phone away from her ears, her hand dropping to her side limply, the phone sliding out of her fingers.

She couldn't hear anything, only the rush of blood pounding in her ears as her heart beat twice as quickly as usual. Hotaru knows…The possibility almost made her want to throw up. No…Mikan laughed. She has no secret to tell. She's not hiding anything. What could Hotaru possibly be talking about?

She's not hiding anything. Definitely…

Even if she is, the secret must be buried deep, deep down. So deep it will never be found out and never appear on the surface. It must be locked away, and no one can know.

And now, Hotaru wants to know.

"Oh," Mikan exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. She felt weak, her face was white, her hands were shaking, and layers of cold sweat appeared on her skin. "I need to apologize to Onii-chan for today."

She slowly climbed down her bed and walked out of her room in a daze. Going down the hallway, she stopped in front of Natsume's room. She did not dare look up, and she felt too weak to, so she kept her gaze on the floor.

Mikan lifted her hand up and knocked on the door softly.

"Come in." Natsume's voice was muffled by the door, and Mikan gulped deeply before twisting the doorknob and walking into her brother's room.

Natsume's eyes trained on her when she walked in, before refocusing on his laptop as if she lost his interest. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to apologize for being rude to you today at school." Mikan said truthfully, focusing on her slippers.

"Did mom and dad tell you to do that?" Natsume asked, long, slim fingers flying over his keyboard, the rhythmic tapping of the keys echoing in the room. Mikan shook her head and he watched her from the corner of his eyes.

"You came here on your own accord?" He asked again and she nodded. He stopped typing, pressing on a particular key extra loudly, and stood up. He took a few steps towards her, and Mikan just stood in the same position, never once lifting her head.

"That's awfully insincere, looking at the ground instead of looking at me." Mikan flinched at that and slowly lifted her head to face him, who was almost two heads taller than her. He had his arms crossed over his chest, his working glasses on and changed into his casual clothes.

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan." Mikan said, almost robotically, and Natsume lifted his eyebrows.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, eyes narrowing on her. "Your face is pale and you're sweating slightly. Did you see a ghost or something?"

"No." Mikan shifted her eyes. "I guess I'm just tired from the first day of school."

"Is that so?" Natsume sighed slightly, like he was also very tired. "Go to sleep early tonight then. I'm not going to wake you up if you oversleep tomorrow."

Mikan merely nodded before making her way to the door without a second glance. Natsume furrowed his eyebrows at her attitude.

"Oi," he called, making her stop and turn to look at him. He sauntered over, and Mikan looked at him in question.

"You came here to apologize, didn't you?" He questioned and she nodded. "I didn't even say whether I forgive you or not."

"Then…" Mikan stared at him dumbly. "Do you forgive me?" He cracked a smile at her clueless face. He rubbed her head affectionately like he would to a puppy, making her whine.

"We'll see how you act tomorrow." He made his way back to his desk. "Goodnight, Mi-chan."

Mikan almost gasped at the nickname. Mi-chan was how he used to call her when they were still very young, and it's been years since he last said that to her. A huge grin broke out on her face, a pink blush spreading on her cheeks.

"Goodnight, Onii-chan!" She called happily before skipping out of the room, closing his door quietly behind her.

Natsume couldn't help but smile at her behavior as he continued typing on his laptop.

* * *

**Dun dun dun! What does Hotaru know? What is Mikan hiding? What's her secret? Tell me what you think! So this chapter was more like a peak at how they are at home, as a family. It was fun writing it, especially with Aoi ^.^ Btw, Aoi is only a year younger than Mikan.**

**Comments, critics and suggestions are welcome! If you wanna flame, better do it with a real account and not as a guest. Thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited and followed this story.**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	4. The Talk

**Oh my gosh I made it! I was so lazy, just reading manga and beta-reading, I didn't want to write at all. Also, I already passed the Christmas deadline, so I lost my determination of uploading...But making it on New Year is not so bad, right?**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

_"If you don't wanna get hurt, you should listen to your mind, instead of your heart. And you'll know I'm right, you'll never get hurt but you'll never be happy."_

* * *

Kaoru was humming in the kitchen, cutting vegetables on the cutting board in rhythmically, matching her tune.

She poked her head out to check the time on the living room clock, seeing that it was already 7:40. Maybe she should wake her up…but then decided against it as she went back into the kitchen. She has to admit, she's a tiny—just a tiny—bit sadistic. After all, this wasn't unusual in their household.

Natsume, Aoi and Ioran were eating their breakfast silently, an occasional "pass the jam please," or "this is yummy" between them. Their breakfast consisted with the normal toast, salad, sunny-side-ups, juice or milk, depending on the two girls, and coffee for Ioran and Natsume.

"Ma." Natsume called, almost alerting, and Kaoru merely hummed happily in return.

"Just the usual." She replied as she giggled a little. Ah, she always looked forward to this moment. Natsume's eye twitched as he brought his mug to his lips, staring at his mother unbelievably.

"You know what, I'll just—" Natsume prepared to stand up, Kaoru prepared to stop him, when a shriek echoed around the house, almost shaking it.

_"I'M LATE FOR SCHOOL!" _Mikan raced down the stairs, hair a mess, socks half on and only three top buttons of her blouse buttoned. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"I was going to," Natsume's face was dark as he gazed at his oldest little sister—currently sixteen years old—disapprovingly. "Ma told me to just leave you."

"Ma~" Mikan whined, trying desperately to untangle her bed-hair.

"It was entertaining." Kaoru laughed as she brought out Mikan's portion of toast. "A retired women needs to have _something_ to liven up her life."

"Not _this._" Mikan complained as she sat down and wolfed down her bread, making Natsume even more disgusted and Aoi chuckling next to her. "Making me late for school is _not_ entertaining."

"Well, it really depends on the person." Kaoru went back into the kitchen with a laugh. Mikan growled, but did not have time to talk back.

"I'm leaving. Bye Ma, bye Pa." Natsume said, grabbing his briefcase and keys. "Want a ride, Aoi?"

"Of course!" Aoi happily skipped over to her brother, hooking her arms around his.

"Wha—W-Wait for me!" Mikan gulped down her glass of milk in a single breath.

"No." Came Natsume's simple answer as they made their way to the door.

"Onii-chan!" Mikan whined, sounding close to tears, as she choked on her food, but still rushed to the door.

"Jeez, I was just joking. Calm down." Natsume's eye twitched again as he looked at her, mouth full and clothes still a mess. He gently patted her bed-hair down, put on her cardigan properly, pulled her socks up, and ordered her to swallow.

"Bye kids." Kaoru and Ioran both called, giggling at the sight. Natsume really was a big softie inside.

"Ah! Your bento!" Kaoru quickly ran over, giving them each their respective boxes.

"Thanks, Ma." They replied in unison, Natsume heading out first.

"Bye!" Mikan waved happily at her parents, Aoi following her lead, before they put on their shoes and left.

"Really, I think this is the first time I've ridden your car to school." Mikan slumped against the carseat, exhausted already.

"That's because you always oversleep." Natsume grumbled. "You should learn from Aoi, she's always early. Besides, I only waited for you today because we go to the same place now."

"Aoi-chan, I don't even know how you manage to get up." Mikan bumped her head with her sisters', making her giggle.

"Nee-chan, you're just lazy." Aoi smiled.

"Or rather, deaf." Natsume teased. "You can't even hear the alarm go off. Of course you can't wake up."

"I hate you." Mikan stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"It's alright." Natsume smiled at her sweetly. "I'll get you back in class."

"Ha, you wish!" Mikan laughed victoriously. "I don't even have math today—" She trailed off and paled as she remembered he was also their homeroom teacher. "Shit."

"Extra punishment for swearing in my car." Natsume grinned victoriously as he glanced at Mikan's devastated look in the rearview mirror. Aoi giggled next to Mikan, giving her a sympathetic pat.

"Onii-chan, you sadist." Mikan mumbled as she shrunk in her seat, pouting.

"I'll admit that." Natsume said as he smirked.

They dropped Aoi at her school first—an all girls school—before proceeding to Gakuen Alice. As it came into view, Mikan's heart started to pound with dread. Oh god, she completely forgot about Hotaru's call yesterday. She didn't want to go to school now.

"What's wrong?" Natsume suddenly asked. "You're unusually quiet."

"That's not true. It's just that I don't have anything to say." Mikan crossed her arms against her chest as she sighed.

"You…" Natsume's eyes unfocused for a slight second. "You didn't sleep well last night, right?"

"…Yeah." Mikan admitted, leaning forward and bumping her head on the back of Natsume's seat. "I don't want to go to school…"

"Why not?" Natsume asked, tone masked with indifference.

"Nothing!" Mikan quickly sat up, realizing with horror at what she just blurted out loud. "Just ignore that, nii-chan."

"Uh huh." Natsume didn't quite believe her. He knew her better than that, but did not press on further.

"We're here." He announced, parking his car.

"Thanks, nii-chan." Mikan smiled at him happily.

"It's nothing." He grinned. He watched in amusement as Mikan started walking off…in the wrong direction.

"Oi, oi." Natsume grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her to the opposite direction, Mikan flailing her arms in protest. "Where you going? We have homeroom."

"H-Homeroom—!" Mikan's face paled. "I can't go with you!" She pulled her arm away desperately.

"The hell are you talking about?" Natsume asked, annoyed.

"Rumors will spread if we show up together!" Mikan yelled stubbornly, stomping her heals on the floor. "I won't risk my high school life for this."

A vein popped on his head. "Don't screw with me, Mikan Sakura Hyuuga. We're going to homeroom _now _and _together._" His tone was final, but Mikan was still stubborn and fought as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled harshly.

Eventually, she gave up and just followed him, arms aching.

They entered their classroom, chattering and laughter dying down almost immediately. Embarrassed, Mikan scurried to her seat, her friends greeting her a silent 'good morning.' She made eye contact with Hotaru, and Hotaru mouthed 'break.' Mikan nodded in understanding.

"Alright, let's start homeroom." Natsume started with attendance. When that was done, he leaned forward on his desk and smiled, almost evilly. "I have a few handouts I want to give you guys." He glanced over at the girls' direction. "Sakura-san, could you please help me hand them out?"

"E-Eh!?" Mikan shot up from her seat in shock, glaring at her brother—ahem, teacher.

He smiled again friendlily, tilting his head to the side. "Please?"

"Of course, Hyuuga-_sensei._" She put extra emphasis on the 'sensei,' reminding him of his position, but he paid her no mind as he merely handed her the mountain-stack of paper, making her almost fall backwards.

He stared right into her eyes, a mischievous glint in his crimson orbs, almost as if he's saying, "I _told_ you I'll get you back in class."

"Bastard." She whispered, stumbling around the classroom and handing out the papers like an idiot, Natsume watching her with absolute fascination.

* * *

"Ah, I'm beat." Mikan slumped on her desk.

"The day just started, Mikan." Anna patted her gently on the back.

"Well, Hyuuga-sensei really seemed like he was picking on you during homeroom." Nono sighed in sympathy.

"I know right!?" Mikan shot up in anger. "How could he do that? I mean, oversleeping wasn't _my _fault! Well…maybe it is, but he could have been _nicer _to me! Besides, picking on me like that, it's easy for other people to get suspicious of us!" Mikan slammed her fist on her desk, making the two girls jump.

"A-Ah, that's right…Mikan-chan…" Anna was thoroughly scared of her friend's attitude.

"Speaking of him," Hotaru trained her violet eyes on Mikan, making her shift in her seat uncomfortably. "Isn't it about time you tell me what you're hiding?"

"Huh?" Sumire glanced between the two girls. "Mikan's hiding something?"

Hotaru lifted her eyebrows as if to say, "well?"

"U-Um…" Mikan gulped nervously. "I don't even know what you're talking about."

Hotaru rolled her eyes at the girl, itching to hit her. "Well it's fine. I'll ask the questions. I already have a hunch anyways."

"A-Already have a hunch?" Mikan stuttered, desperately trying to keep a smile on her face, but it was already useless. Hotaru glanced at her as she sipped a cup of tea from her water-bottle.

"You guys want to know what she's hiding too, right?" Hotaru smirked at the other three girls who nodded furiously. "Alright then, how about we meet in the common area right after school?"

"Sounds good." Sumire curled her hair around her finger, eyes going from Hotaru to Mikan who sat nervously. "You're going to tell us what you're hiding. It's four against one. We'll hunt you down if you don't show up."

"Yep, yep." Anna and Nono also nodded along. The four girls linked arms and stared at Mikan mischievously, making her gulp.

Oh god, how will she ever get out of this mess?

* * *

Mikan despised the clock for striking three p.m that day for the first time in her school life.

She slowly picked up her books and slid them back into her backpack, taking her sweet time and dragging her feet on the floor as everyone poured out of the school building. Within a few minutes, the building was almost completely empty.

She slowly made her way to their common area, a large, cozy and spacious area with beanbags, sofas, coffee tables, bookshelves and even a billiard table in the corner. As expected, the four girls already made themselves comfy on the sofa, waiting for her. A few others were also there, but they paid the girls no mind.

"Hey," Mikan called as casually as she could, pulling a beanbag over so she could sit facing them.

"So. First things first." Hotaru started without waiting a beat. "Explain your relationship with Hyuuga-sensei."

"H-Ha?" Mikan was caught by surprise. She thought for a moment. "We're just siblings. Maybe even friends, we're pretty close."

"I can tell," Sumire scoffed. "Since you were yelling at him yesterday in the staff room."

"T-That was because…" Mikan pouted.

"Alright, alright." Hotaru quieted them down. "I should be more specific. What do we _not _know about your relationship with Hyuuga-sensei?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about—" Mikan started denying anything, but Hotaru quickly cut her off.

"No lying." Hotaru ordered. "Tell us everything. Nothing can be left out."

"I-I really don't know what you're talking about!" Mikan cried, looking at the floor and Hotaru sighed. She dropped her voice, leaning forward, making everyone else do the same.

"The two of you are adopted, right?" Hotaru whispered and the other three gasped in surprise.

"Is this true, Mikan?" Nono asked, staring at Mikan. Mikan gulped and closed her eyes, trying to calm down.

"Yes." She answered steadily, voice also low. They didn't want anyone to hear.

"That's why you two don't have much resemblance." Anna nodded in understanding.

"You don't like people knowing about this." Hotaru crossed her arms over her chest. "Right?"

"Yes." Mikan answered again.

"How did you get adopted?" Sumire asked curiously.

"I…I don't exactly remember so well, but it was when I was four." Mikan's gaze dulled and unfocused as she remembered. "It was cold and snowing. I was alone on the streets, just limping everywhere. Then, all of a sudden, I ended up in front of a _huge_ mansion. The lights inside looked so warm and comforting." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I wanted a home for myself, to be warm and loved and safe from everyday starvation. Before I knew it, I knocked on the door. They just took me in without a word. I was so relieved."

"Poor Mikan-chan." Anna wiped her eyes with her finger, Nono sniffing beside her. Sumire was nodding in sympathy as well.

"I see. Well, I guessed you were either at an orphanage or they just found you somewhere." Hotaru did not show a trace of sympathy for her, after all, it was in the past. Mikan, surprisingly, felt comfort at this behavior.

"But," Hotaru smiled evilly, wagging a finger in the air. "That's not your deepest secret."

"Really?" Sumire gasped. "There's _more?_"

"H-Hotaru–" Mikan's face went pale again.

"Answer me." Hotaru demanded, voice cold. "Do you have someone you like?"

"No." Mikan answered without hesitation, eyes determined.

"Really?" Hotaru lifted her eyebrows. "Don't you dare lie to _me,_ Mikan Sakura." Mikan's determined aura started to waver at this.

"I—I…" Her mouth went dry as she stared at her hands which were in her lap.

"You like someone don't you?" Hotaru's tone grew softer as she stared at her best friend. "Someone you weren't supposed to like."

"Ugh, just spit it out already, you two!" Sumire screeched, crossing her arms in impatience.

"Mikan…" Hotaru never took her eyes off of the girl in front of them. "You like your brother, don't you? As a man, and not as a brother."

"No…" It was a weak attempt for her, she knew, but she wanted to protect herself _somehow._

"Is this…true?" Anna asked, putting a hand on Mikan's shoulder.

"Please don't lie to me anymore, Mikan." Hotaru whispered and Mikan couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears streamed down her face as she nodded in affirmation.

"Oh god." Sumire's face went pale. "Isn't that incest? That's a sin right? It's illegal!"

"But they're not even related by blood!" Nono protested, though they all knew that it's still incest whether related by blood or adopted.

"That's why I didn't want to say it!" Mikan cried, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed. "It's a sin! It's my sin, I'm horrible! Loving my own brother, something like this…" She cried harder.

"It's not like you wanted it to happen." Sumire went to hug the sobbing girl, soothing her. "There, there."

"Yeah," Anna agreed. "We'll help you."

"Mikan," Hotaru patted her on the head, holding her shoulder and making Mikan look at her. "Stay strong, alright?"

Mikan nodded though she was still in tears.

"Did…Did you ever tell him?" Anna asked and Mikan paused for a second, but hesitantly nodding her head.

"Oh my goodness." Sumire shook the girl and brought her head up so she would look them in the eye. "You _did!?_"

* * *

**Huhu, ending with a sort-of cliffhanger! I just _love _writing about their interactions as a family. The Hyuuga household is just really fun when put together. So, lot's of people will definitely say, "Ha! I knew it" or "I told you so!" But yes, a lot of reviews got her 'secret' correct. I wonder how she confessed though...? And how did Natsume react? Well, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter! I didn't update this for Christmas, so be prepared for the next chapter to be uploaded sometime in the next few days as compensation. **

**Comments, critics and suggestions are welcome! If you wanna flame, better do it with a real account and not as a guest. Thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited and followed this story.**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	5. Fiancée?

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_"The one you want is the one you could never have…"_

* * *

"Oh my goodness." Sumire shook the girl and brought her head up so she would look them in the eye. "You _did!?_"

Mikan nodded, teary-eyed, almost as if she was humiliated at her actions.

"Can you...tell us about it?" Nono urged softly, afraid to push the girl too far.

"I-It was almost three years ago..."

Mikan Sakura was thirteen that year, innocent, naive, and stupidly in love. It was extremely unbearable, especially since the person she loved so dearly lived in the same house as her, and was her adopted older brother.

She was young, but not stupid. She knew she shouldn't have these feelings. But she would occasionally think, was it really that bad? Was it really a _sin?_

Of course, as a girl in a tender age, in that awkward time where she was still growing up and changing, she only understood vaguely that loving anyone in her family _in that way_ was bad. Period.

So her confession was more of a whim than anything. Of course, she thought about it and planned for a very long time, but she merely wanted to tell him her feelings, see his reaction, and see if it was really _that bad._

She regrets it to no end.

It was a snowy day, new years, when she finally mustered her courage to tell her beloved brother. He was twenty-one already, a college student, and came back for the winter. Aoi, twelve at that time, was asleep in her room, Kaoru and Ioran were chatting and watching TV in the living room. Mikan was drawing a picture, Natsume watching her with utmost boredom.

_"Ne, nii-chan." Mikan said after a while, heart pounding with excitement and fear. "Can you take me outside to watch the snow?"_

_"Ha?" Natsume yawned. "Why would you want to go outside, where it's freezing, and watch stupid snow?"_

_"It's romantic!" Mikan yelled cutely, innocently, making Natsume sigh in defeat. When her eyes sparkled like that, Mikan Sakura Hyuuga get's it her way._

_"Ma, Pa, I'm taking Mikan outside to..." He furrowed his eyebrows as if he couldn't believe himself. "Watch snow."_

_"Sure, honey." Kaoru waved at them. "Be careful, alright?"_

_"Hai!" Mikan cheered, Natsume copying her, but without the enthusiasm._

_They had a backyard with a large porch and a swing. That day, it was completely covered in snow, painted over in white._

_Natsume hissed unhappily as the cold air hit his face, but Mikan raced out and spun under the snow, arms wide open as if she was going to hug the air._

_"Nii-chan, look!" She beamed at him. "It's so pretty!"_

_He couldn't help but smile too, seeing her so happy. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked over, hands in his pocket. "Yeah, yeah."_

_"Build a snowman with me!" She ordered, pulling his arm and dragging him into open area._

_"What?" Natsume grumbled. "Didn't we already build one during Christmas?"_

_"That's different." Mikan grinned. "Because it's my birthday today!"_

_So they both kneeled and started piling snow, making a large snowball, slowly making it bigger._

_"Ne, nii-chan." Mikan started, softly, quietly, patting the body of the snowman. "Can I tell you something?"_

_"Hm?" Natsume asked halfheartedly, not even bothering to answer her._

_Mikan's hands paused, her eyes softened as she gazed at the snow, and her voice low, like a whisper. "I love you."_

_"Uh huh. I know." Natsume answered in a brotherly tone, not really knowing why she would say that._

_"No, onii-chan." Mikan smiled softly to herself, almost sadly, as she stared at the snow-covered ground. "I love you. Not as my brother, but as a man."_

_Natsume froze next to her, and for a very long, dreadful moment, there was silence._

_Then he laughed. It was the hardest he laughed since he was little, he even fell backwards in the snow, holding his stomach and laughing._

_"Onii—"_

_"Mikan." He said seriously, his laughter gone. "Do you even know what you're saying?"_

_"Yes!" Mikan exclaimed desperately. "I love you!"_

_"You can't." Natsume sat up, snow catching on his clothes, his bangs sliding over his eyes so they were hidden. "We're siblings."_

_"B-But still!" Mikan was close to tears now. "Don't you love me?"_

_"I do." Natsume pet her on the head softly, gently. "But only as a sister."_

_He stood up and brushed the snow off. "I'll shrug this off as a bad joke this time, so don't say something like that again."_

_"No—" Tears streamed down her cheeks now, freezing in the cold._

_"I was going to announce this later," Natsume tucked his hands in his pocket. "But I'll let you be the first to know."_

_He turned and gave her the most gentle smile she has ever seen. "I have a girlfriend, Mikan."_

Sumire gasped. "G-Girlfriend?"

"Intense." Anna nodded in agreement, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Hotaru pat Mikan on the back. "Good going."

"I was naive!" Mikan screamed in tears. "I couldn't help it."

"It's alright." Nono said. "I mean, I understand his point of view though…"

"Yeah." Mikan sighed. "It's incest. Impossible love. Forbidden love. Whatever you want to call it."

"Wait, wait." Sumire grabbed Mikan's shoulder again. "Does he _really _have a girlfriend?"

"Well, at that time, yeah." Mikan nodded slowly, a little shaken by Sumire's aggressive shaking.

"'_At that time,'_ you say." Sumire's eyes started sparkling. "What about now then?"

"Now?" Mikan repeated, letting out a tight smile. "Now, huh?"

"Well?" Sumire shook her again. "What about now?"

"Stop shaking!" Mikan screamed, sighing. "'Now' he has a fiancée." The girls quickly quieted down.

"Ouch." Nono whispered.

"Shit." Sumire let go immediately.

"Fiancée, huh." Hotaru thought for a moment, her violet eyes darkening. "Is it the same girl as back then?"

"Yes." Mikan whispered and a wave of tension washed over the girls.

"Well," Hotaru sighed. "That's good."

"What are you talking about?" Sumire growled. "How is that good? You crazy?"

"She can give up now, can't she?" Hotaru trained her eyes on Mikan. "Loving him is no good. I'm only saying this because I love you and we're best friends. Give up on him. Let him get married."

"I…kind of understand Hotaru." Anna mumbled. "I mean, you guys won't ever have a future!"

"Why can't your parents just un-adopt you?" Sumire crossed her arms impatiently.

"It's not that easy, idiot." Hotaru stated. "There are a lot of legal papers to deal with, and why would they un-adopt her in the first place? Go up to them and say, "please un-adopt me because I love my brother?" You need an actual reason to un-adopt a child."

"B-But!" Sumire argued helplessly.

"Alright, alright." Mikan calmed everyone down. "Thank you for being so supportive of me and all, but I'm really fine now. It's already three years, after all."

"And yet you still love him." Hotaru pointed out without a care in the world.

Mikan laughed sheepishly. "Honestly, it seems that I love him even more, instead of the other way around." The other girls gave each other sad glances.

"Guys! Really! I'm ok." She laughed and stood up. "I need to get home now, before I get scolded. I'll go check and see if Natsume-nii's still here."

Laughing, Mikan swung her backpack over her shoulders, waved her friends goodbye, and left the common area.

The girls looked at each other knowingly, but did not make a sound.

Turning the corner and going to the darkest corner of the abandoned hallway, Mikan leaned against the wall, panting ever so slightly, and slid down onto the floor. She tucked her knees against her chest and started sobbing, ever so pathetically.

"Why?" She whispered. "Why did I have to fall in love with you, onii-chan?" The tears wouldn't stop.

"Does God hate me so much? Was it wrong for me to go to that house in the first place? Is this all my fault?" She cried harder, hiccuping, leaning her forehead against her knees.

* * *

"Mikan!" Kaoru exclaimed when she opened the door and took off her shoes. "Where have you been?"

"I'm home." She called. "I was at school."

"School?" Kaoru furrowed her brows. "Natsume, do you know about this?" Natsume entered the living room, a towel around his shoulder, shirtless, and his hair dripping wet, holding a bottle of cola in his hands.

"Ah! Onii-chan, put on a shirt!" Aoi whined on the sofa, throwing a pillow at him which he easily dodged and he stuck his tongue out at her.

Mikan could not bear to look at him. Her face was burning red, even though she should be used to seeing him like this already. They've been together for eleven years, for pete's sake!

"Did you say something, Ma?" Natsume asked, taking a large gulp of his cola.

"Yes." Kaoru sat down on the sofa as well. "Did you know that Mikan was at school?" Natsume's beautiful eyes trained on Mikan analytically, making her nervous and blush even harder. She wanted to curse him.

"You were at school?" He asked. "Until just a moment ago?"

"Yes." Mikan answered shakily, yet trying to act confident. "I was talking with Hotaru and the others."

"Oh?" Natsume leaned down, almost teasingly, their face a mere hairsbreadth away. "What were you talking about?" Mikan's heart was already thumping out of control from their closeness, she didn't need to remember what they were talking about.

"N-Nothing!" She pushed him away, _hands touching his bare chest…_"Gah! I hate you, onii-chan! I'm going to take a shower!" She exclaimed, face completely red, and rushed upstairs.

"What did _I _do?" Natsume asked his sister and his mother, absolutely clueless. Well, perhaps not _completely _clueless.

"Who knows." Aoi grinned mischievously. "Maybe it's just your presence."

"Shut up, Aoi." He hissed.

* * *

"Hey, Mikan." Natsume leaned against the doorframe casually, crimson eyes trained on the girl who was sitting at her computer, typing away.

"What, nii-chan?" She answered back absentmindedly, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear as she continued to type, her eyes never once leaving the screen.

"Did I do something?" Natsume asked, a little irritated by her carelessness. He never liked not being the center of attention.

"Not really." She answered. "Why?"

"You were acting a little weird when you came back." Natsume's eyes softened as he gazed at her.

"Oh." Mikan's fingers stopped typing, her face heating up again, remembering the scene downstairs and her conversation with the girls. "I-It's nothing. Honest."

"Is that so?" Natsume asked teasingly, not believing her at all, but decided not to ask further. What could she be talking about with her friends, anyways? Girls just have the same old topic over and over again, so he wasn't worried.

"By the way, after school tomorrow, come to my classroom immediately." He stated.

"Hm? Why?" Mikan asked, finally turning to face her brother.

"Just because." Natsume grinned, making Mikan pout.

"What? That's no fair! Tell me!" She whined. Natsume sauntered over, ruffling her hair affectionately, and spoke gently.

"We're going to go pick someone up together. I'll need your help, 'kay?"

Mikan blinked. "Pick someone up? Who?"

"You'll find out." He ruffled her hair one last time before turning towards the door and walked out.

"Don't sleep too late, or else you'll end up oversleeping again. Goodnight." He waved, grinning boyishly, before disappearing down the hall.

Mikan couldn't smile as she gazed at his left hand, focusing on the silver ring on his ring finger.

Picking someone up tomorrow, huh?

* * *

Natsume sighed as he slumped in his chair. He felt exhausted; being a teacher really wasn't easy. He anticipated tomorrow for a year already, he wonder how she's doing. How will she react tomorrow? What expression will she have? Will she be happy to see him?

Somehow, as he thought about the next day, his thoughts would slowly drift back to his little sister, and the day three years ago.

Somehow, his thoughts always drift back to her, whether he likes it or not.

He wonders why?

He stared at his ring and smiled lightly. Ah, he shouldn't let his thoughts drift off, he has a lot of things to prepare.

* * *

**Here's the thing. If you want to review this chapter, you have to review chapter 4 as well. I want more reviews! Reviews is life! You agree with me, right? Right? RIGHT? Ok I'm just kidding...maybe. But really, it would make me extremely happy if you reviewed both chapters. Really. Yeah.**

**Actually, this chapter is more suited for Christmas or New Year, I think. Mikan's adopted birthday is January 1st, and her real birthday is May 17 (found on G****akuen Alice wikia****), which is very suitable for this time of the year! But if you think about it...it's actually quite sad, getting rejected on your birthday...boo hoo, poor Mikan...**

**I wanna draw now! Story telling is over! I just installed windows on my mac, so now I can use PaintTool SAI with pen pressure! I gotta try that out! Writing comes later! ^_^**

**Comments, critics and suggestions are welcome! If you wanna flame, better do it with a real account and not as a guest. Thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited and followed this story.**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	6. Her

**It's almost Chinese New Year break, and I'm so excited about it! My goal is to finish a chapter or two, do some DIY stuff and draw a few pictures. Yep. That's my goal. **

**I've written this in my other stories, but I felt like I should say it here too (and yes, I copied and pasted it for those who read all my stories. Love you guys! ^.^). I want to say that _I have a life outside of FanFiction. _Hard to believe, but it's true. I have school, debate, friends and other things outside of this website. So this is _not_ my priority. Please do not bombard me with hates about my slow updating because, well, I don't get paid for this. (Hey! I like money! Don't throw tomatoes at me!) But I like writing too, so I'm not planning on abandoning this or anything.**

**Now enough of my blabbering and onto the story.**

* * *

_"It's true we don't know what we've got until its gone, but we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives."_

* * *

Mikan sighed tiredly as she sat down on their lunch table.

"What's wrong, Mikan?" Nono asked as she took a bite of her macaroni and cheese. "You were sighing all morning."

"Yeah." Sumire flipped her hair. "Sighing brings bad luck, you know? Don't bring _me _bad luck too."

"I was just thinking…" Mikan gazed at her food, not really feeling the appetite for eating. "About onii-chan."

Hotaru growled. "Just forget about him already, Mikan." She took a scoop of her bowl of crab brains. "He has a fiancée already."

"I _know._" Mikan sighed again. "I wasn't really thinking about that. It's just that…" When she looked up, everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to continue.

"It's just that yesterday onii-chan said that he wanted me to go pick someone up with him." Mikan spun her fork between her fingers. "I wonder who it is?"

"_Well, _if he puts it that way than I'll bet it's his—" Sumire's mouth was instantly covered by Anna who laughed nervously.

"What were you saying?" Mikan blinked and Anna shook Sumire's head furiously.

"Just ignore her, Mikan." She told Mikan with a tight smile.

"Well, I kind of already have a hint." Mikan smiled back sadly. "I'm just kind of hoping it's not true."

"Well," Hotaru glanced up for a fraction of a second. "Keep hoping."

* * *

"Ah~" Nono stretched in her seat as the others packed their bags and left. "Jinno's math classes are really the worst."

"He's so ridiculously boring." Sumire nodded in agreement. "Besides, what's up with his frog?"

"If he hears you, you're dead meat." Anna whispered to Sumire, checking their surroundings nervously.

Mikan stood up from her seat and swung her bag over her shoulder. "Ok, I'm gonna go first. See you guys tomorrow!" She waved to them and left. The girls waved back, shouting goodbye to her retreating figure.

"I hope Mikan will be ok…" Nono stated worriedly.

"She'll be fine." Hotaru dropped her pencil case into her bag. "She's stronger than she looks."

* * *

Mikan took a deep breath before knocking on Hyuuga-sensei's door. A muffled 'come in' was heard on the other side, and, gulping, Mikan twisted the doorknob, walking in. Teacher's offices are always intimidating for her, even if it was her own brother's office.

"Wait a sec, I just need to finish this email." Natsume told her without looking, his long fingers continued tapping on the keyboards loudly. She didn't really mind; she loved staring at him with his working glasses on.

After a minute or two, Natsume tapped on a key extra loudly, took off his glasses with a soft sigh, and stood up, smiling at his sister.

"Ok, done. Let's go." He grabbed his leather satchel and led his sister out the door, switching off the lights and locking the room behind him. They made their way to the school parking lot where his black Lamborghini was.

Without a hesitation, Mikan made her way to the front seat, throwing her bag onto the car floor as Natsume got into the driver's seat. Without further delay, he revived the engine and they were on their way to the airport.

The ride consisted of silence, a comfortable silence that made Mikan's body slacken, lulling her into oblivion as the radio played a soft, soothing song. It was almost two hours before she was shaken awake by her brother, vaguely understanding that they had already arrived.

Yawning and rubbing her tired eyes, she forced herself out the car and make a beeline behind her brother as they made their way into the airport and to the waiting area.

They stopped at the back of a crowd that were also waiting for the departing passengers, and taking this opportunity, Mikan leaned her head against Natsume's shoulder, dozing off while still standing.

After a few minutes or so—Mikan wasn't so sure how long she was 'dozing off'—Natsume's shoulder suddenly disappeared from under her head and she was only barely able to stick her hand in front of her so that her head wouldn't hit the floor.

Though she twisted her wrist painfully and literally dropped onto the cold, dirty floor.

Holding her throbbing wrist that was steadily turning red than purple, she scanned the crowd for the familiar shade of raven. Her eyes sparkled as she set eyes on him, about to stand up and run to him.

She pushed through the crowd, seeing the people carrying duffel bags, backpacks and colorful suitcases coming out from the door. Someone bumped her and irritated her wrist, making her wince at the pain.

She was getting closer to her brother, but then she saw that he was staring at something—rather, someone—that was coming out from the doors.

All she saw was a flash of strawberry blonde as a girl practically threw herself in his arms.

Her heart dropped to her stomach and her throat dried up uncomfortably.

Luna Koizumi was back.

* * *

"Natsume!" A loud squeal was heard in the increasing crowd of people around the waiting area. Heads turned in the girl's direction as she sped up from a walk to a run, seeing a face she knew.

The said man opened his arms slightly, and without hesitation the girl jumped into his arms with a laugh.

"I missed you so much, Luna." Natsume whispered into her ear as he held her tight, she doing the same.

"Missed you too, Nattie." She giggled in his arms. Luna stepped away slightly, still holding onto his arms. She caught sight of a familiar blob of brunette behind Natsume.

"Oh, Mikan-chan?" She called, stepping a little to the right so that she could see better. Natsume turned around as well, looking baffled as if he completely forgot about her.

"Hello, Koizumi-nee-san." Mikan let out a tight smile as she stood there watching them, hiding her bruised wrist behind her back.

"Hello, dear." She smiled sweetly and went over, giving Mikan a hug as well. Mikan only dared to hug her back with her good hand.

"Let's get to the car." He took her biggest light pink suitcase and then motioned for Mikan to take the smaller one. Mikan hesitantly took the smaller suitcase from Luna, getting a soft 'thank you' in reply.

She stuffed her injured hand into her school cardigan, clenching her teeth and yet forcing her lips to stay upright as she pulled the smaller—yet still very heavy—suitcase to the parking lot.

"Thank you guys so much." Luna smiled once they got to Natsume's car. He unlocked the doors, smiled at her, and told her to get in first. Luna obediently got into the front seat (swiftly swinging Mikan's backpack to the backseat), as Natsume opened the car trunk and set the suitcases in. Mikan waited for him to put in the first suitcase before handing him the one she was holding.

"Sorry." He whispered softly as he took the suitcase from her, his fingers lingering on her red wrist.

"I-I'm fine." Mikan stammered stupidly, instinctually hiding her wrist behind her back and letting out a crooked smile.

"Yeah, thanks." He shut the trunk and opened the door for Mikan, who slipped in with her head down.

A beat later, Natsume sat in the driver's seat and revived the engine, preparing to leave the parking lot.

The ride consisted of Luna's high-pitched voice narrating the things that have happened in the past year of living in the States.

* * *

They pulled over in their garage at six thirty in the evening. Natsume helped Luna take out her luggages, and this time, he did not ask for Mikan's help in carrying them.

Luna continued smiling, talking about the fun things she did and people she met in the States. It was the most _boring _conversation Mikan has ever heard (she actually fell asleep on the ride) and she had _no_ idea why Natsume continued to nod to everything she says.

She wondered if Natsume even heard half of what she said.

"We're home." Natsume called as they entered the door, taking their shoes off before entering the living room.

"Welcome home swee—" Kaoru's silver spatula fell onto the floor with a loud clank as she saw the girl that was standing next to Natsume. "Oh my god!" She squealed happily, the spatula forgotten as she rushed to hug the girl.

"Luna, you're back!" She exclaimed in the hug, letting go and holding her cheeks to get a better look. Luna laughed at Kaoru's actions.

"Yeah. Natsume just went to pick me up. It's been a while, Aunty." She smiled and nodded at Ioran who was sitting at the sofa along with Aoi who was kicking her feet, eyes sparkling at the sight of the blonde.

"Natsume! You should have told me!" Kaoru suddenly panicked, heading back to the kitchen. "Oh god, do we have enough for an extra guest?"

"It's ok, I'm not so hungry today." Mikan called quickly, scurrying upstairs to her room without another word and before anyone could react, the banging of her room door could be heard.

"Mikan?" Kaoru poked her head out again, looking at the stairs before resting her crimson eyes on Natsume. "What happened to her today?"

Natsume shrugged as he pulled out a chair for Luna, who smiled at him in thanks. After a few more minutes of casual chatting between the four in the living room, Kaoru came out with fresh hot dishes, announcing that dinner was ready.

"Hold on a sec." Natsume murmured as he got up. Luna gave him a questioning look, but the others seemed to already know what Natsume was going to do. He headed up the stairs, not forgetting to get the first aid kit that was put away in a cabinet

He knocked on her door and heard her answer after about a beat. "Come in."

"What's wrong?" Natsume asked as he came in, seeing her staring at her computer screen.

"Nothing." Mikan answered softly, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Why aren't you coming down for dinner?" He asked again, sitting on her soft, light pink bed.

"I said I'm not hungry." She mumbled, still avoiding his eyes. He paused as he stared at her, examining her with his sagacious eyes.

"…How's your wrist?" He questioned gently, seeing her flinch at the question.

"I-It's fine." She stammered, her head hanging lower.

"Let me see." He demanded, only to be met with a wall of stubbornness.

"No."

"Come on, let me see." He pat the spot next to him so she could hear. Like a little dog, she slowly stood up from her swivel chair and made her way over to the bed where she sat down next to Natsume.

Without a word he let out his hand, waiting for her to give him hers. She hesitantly put her hand over his.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"It's bruising up pretty badly." He examined her hand. "How did this happen?"

"I fell," she stated, "in the airport."

"Fell?" He glanced up. "Falling on your wrist could result to a fracture. You might want to go to the hospital to get it checked."

"That serious?" Mikan gasped, pulling her wrist back and holding it against her chest tenderly. "My wrist's broken?"

"Possibly." Natsume grumbled, opening the first aid kit. "A small break."

"Will I get shots?" He almost laughed when he saw her face: tears gathering in her large, scared eyes, the colors draining from her cheeks.

"Maybe." He teased and she sniffed at the mere thought.

"No! Anything but the needles! I won't go to the hospital!" She whined, thrashing and kicking on her bed, only to wince as she touched her wrist.

"For goodness sakes, you're sixteen already." He tried to settle her down. "And you're _still _scared of needles?"

"Age has nothing to do with it." She sniffed again as Natsume took her hand, applied some ointment on it, before wrapping it up with some gauze.

"I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow after school." He stated as he closed the box. "Now go downstairs for dinner."

"I'm not hungry." She mumbled, turning her head away stubbornly.

"Really?" Natsume lifted his eyebrow at her. "Then why do I hear your stomach grumbling?"

"My stomach is not—" Right on cue, before she could even finish her sentence, her stomach growled extra loudly, making Natsume laugh and Mikan blush in embarrassment.

"Jeez!" Mikan screamed. "Fine, I'll eat!"

"You don't have to." Natsume teased as he followed Mikan to the door. Once opening the door, they were both greeted by a strawberry blonde who was surprised at first, but then beamed.

"Oh, perfect timing." She whipped around, her smile still intact. "I was just about to call you two down."

"Sorry for the wait." Natsume took Luna's hand, lacing their fingers together as they made their way downstairs as they chatted happily.

Mikan held her bandaged wrist gently as she watched them make their way down. Their faces were so genuinely happy when they're with each other that she just _had_ to slow herself down a few steps so she wouldn't be the third wheel.

She forced as smile as she took a seat at the dining table, her eyes never really able to leave the couple who sat side by side just across the table.

She would have to start practicing her fake smiles again.

* * *

**Awww, Mikan's heartbroken (again). I seem to make Mikan the victim in a lot of my stories, even though Natsume was the one who fell in love with her first in the anime/manga. O.O Anyways, did you guys like this chapter? Did Luna's smile irritate you? Mikan _may_ start to act OOC in future chapters. I mean, broken hearts do that to you, right? Hope you'll keep reading!**

**Comments, critics and suggestions are welcome! If you wanna flame, better do it with a real account and not as a guest. Thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited and followed this story.**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	7. Him

**Everyone loves updates, no? ^.^**

* * *

_"Have you ever wondered which hurts the most: saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing, and wishing you had?"_

* * *

"Whoa…" Sumire, Anna and Nono stared at Mikan's hand in absolute awe.

"W-What?" Mikan shivered slightly at their wide eyes that followed her hand's every movement. "You guys have been staring at my hand for the past hour."

"Not true." Sumire scoffed, temporarily broken from her stare, but her eyes continued to trace Mikan's hand. "We _do not_ come to school an hour early for no reason. Students just _don't _do that."

"It looks painful." Anna's eyes drooped at the bandages. "Is it broken?"

"How did it happen?" Nono added, both leaning in a little closer, their breaths tickling the skin that was not covered, making Mikan yelp.

"Onii-chan said it _might _be a small fracture. We're going to go to the hospital for a check after school." She looked at Anna, then turned to Nono. "I fell on it."

"At the airport?" Hotaru asked, typing away on her mini-laptop, seemingly uncaring.

"Yeah." Mikan replied slowly.

"Hm. Doesn't look like a good start to me." Hotaru mumbled, her fingers typing at a quick—almost inhumane—speed.

"I'm just a klutz, we all know that." Mikan grumbled back, holding her wrist and wincing when she tried to bend it.

"What's her name?" Hotaru lifted her head up and locked eyes with her briefly. "Lara? Lucy?"

"Luna." Mikan clarified.

"Luna." Hotaru repeated and it seemed like something clicked in her mind. "What a perfect name."

"Why?" Sumire asked, knitting her eyebrows. "Well, I mean, Luna's a great name and all…"

"Lunatic." Hotaru broke Sumire's speech. No one answered and Hotaru cocked an eyebrow. "Get it? Luna? _Luna_-tic?"

"Hotaru, that's just mean." Mikan crinkled her nose. "Koizumi-nee-san is not that bad."

"Of course she's not." Hotaru sighed. "_No one _is 'bad' in your eyes."

"Except for Jinno." She noted. "Well, I mean, his class is bad. He's not…_that_ bad."

"See?" Hotaru narrowed her eyes on her. "You're too kindhearted, you see everyone in a good light. You never know what kind of person this 'Luna' is."

"I trust onii-chan's judgments." She stated confidently.

"Sure." Hotaru shrugged. "But I mean, her name is perfect for _you._ _Lunatic_ will definitely ruin your life. Twisting—perhaps even breaking—your wrist the second she arrives…Can you even imagine what kind of misfortunes you'll go through once they get married? She'll be your sister-in-law, Mikan."

"We'll get along fine." Her voice shook.

"I thought you didn't believe in supernatural things like that." Nono butted in. Of course—the science girl.

"I don't." Hotaru stated simply as her eyes trained back onto her computer. "But this Lunatic gives me a very, _very_ bad feeling. It's a gut feeling—women's intuition, if you may."

Hotaru glanced at Mikan from the corner of her eyes. "Just…be careful, Mikan."

"I will." She whispered, clutching her injured wrist.

The bell echoed around the school as the students scrambled into their seats. The door opened and closed as Hyuuga-sensei walked into the room. Homeroom started.

"Good morning." He greeted with an indifferent face. "Today, I will be introducing a transfer student."

Almost immediately, everyone started whispering and murmuring.

"Quiet down." Natsume raised his voice over the commotion and everyone shut up at his voice.

"Please come in." The door opened at his statement, and everyone gasped at the sight. Mikan included.

The boy who walked in seemed to _sparkle; _his blonde hair was practically _blinding _and his eyes were a mixture of bright blue and dark blue, and everything in between, seemingly shifting every time he blinked like the endless sea.

He didn't glance at the students once when he walked in. He turned around, wrote his name, spun around to face everyone, then finally, he smiled.

Wow. He was cute and all, but that _smile. _Mikan felt a little envious on how bright his smile was—practically beating her 'brightest smile' record.

"Go ahead and introduce yourself." Natsume instructed and the boy nodded, his smile never wavering.

"My name is Ruka Nogi, half French and half Japanese, just turned seventeen. I've been living in France for my whole life, and only moved to Japan about a month ago, but I speak perfect Japanese, so please don't be afraid to approach me. I hope we can all get along." Ruka finished, not forgetting to let out another killer smile, making the girls swoon.

"Wow, they didn't swoon _that _much when Hyuuga-sensei came." Anna whispered to the girls and they nodded.

"Maybe because he's around our age?" Nono offered logically. Sumire sighed dreamily as propped her elbows on the desk, her chin resting on her hands.

"Ruka Nogi and Natsume Hyuuga…so hard to choose…" She mumbled, more to herself, and the others snickered.

"Nogi, how about you sit at that empty seat in the back?" Natsume asked and Ruka nodded obediently before making his way over.

"Wait!" Mikan shot up in the air, her hand raised, before she could even think. Suddenly realizing she did something so embarrassing, she shrunk with uncertainty. "Uh…"

"What is it, Sakura?" Natsume asked, his brow raised and Ruka stopped midway.

"C-Can N-Nogi-san s-sit next t-to me?" She asked shakily, her hands waving wilding at the empty desk next to her. "I-If you don't mind…" She trailed off and sunk back into her seat.

"I'm fine with it." Ruka smiled kindly. "Hyuuga-sensei, would that be alright?"

"It's…" Natsume almost seemed like he wanted to decline it, but then sighed. "…Fine."

Mikan's eyes sparkled.

He sat at the desk and set his bag down.

"Um, Nogi-san…" Mikan started awkwardly.

"Yes?" He answered, eyes training on her, making her fidget.

"Uh…Did you actually want to sit in the back?" She asked sheepishly, realizing she might be too pushy.

"Oh no, I like this seat much better." He smiled. "Besides, I can sit with such a pretty girl like you."

Mikan blushed. "O-Oh, I'm not pretty…"

"Of course you are." He insisted. "May I ask you for your name?"

"Of course." Mikan immediately beamed. "My name is Mikan Sakura."

"Mikan Sakura." He repeated. "That's a beautiful name. Can I call you 'Mikan?'"

"Sure!" She exclaimed. "Then, can I call you 'Ruka?'"

"Yep." He grinned.

"Ahem." Someone fake coughed loudly, gaining their attention. "May I continue with homeroom?" Natsume's crimson eyes narrowed dangerously on the two.

"Y-Yes, of course." Mikan stammered, head handing low. "Sorry, sensei."

"Me too." Ruka added. "Sorry."

Natsume did not reply to their apology, but his gaze lingered a beat longer on Ruka before he continued on with the rest of homeroom.

* * *

School went by like a flash. During lunch, Sumire was complaining about how Mikan made Ruka sit next to her, and saying, 'that wasn't fair. You always get the guys.' Then, of course, the girls took advantage of the new friendship between Mikan and Ruka in order to 'get to know' him.

As usual, students poured out of the school building once the bell rang, and Mikan bid her friends goodbye as she swung her bag over her shoulders and headed for the teacher's office.

Glancing into the room, she found it empty and locked. Shrugging, Mikan decided to take a stroll outside. After all, it was a beautiful afternoon and it would really do her some good to get some fresh air.

Just behind the school was a large forest, the Northern Forest, most commonly used as a 'dare spot' and for 'ghost hunting' among the bored students.

But it was in the middle of the day. There wouldn't be any _ghosts_ during the day, would there? Mikan laughed at the silly thought as she skipped into the forest, breathing in deeply and smelling the freshness of grass and pine.

It was dark inside. A good dark. A comforting dark. The sunlight that dappled the ground light green, yellow and orange was interesting to look at, and beautiful.

Mikan was so caught up with staring at the different patterns the light shifted to that she almost fell backwards when something jumped out of the bushes with a loud rustle and sped past her.

"Wait!" Another voice cried as a second figure jumped out, much, _much_ bigger than the first. "Don't go there!"

"R-Ruka?" Mikan stuttered as she barely caught herself from falling, eyes wide with surprise and shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Mikan!" He exclaimed, panting and sweating. "No time to talk. Come with me!" He grabbed her wrist and started pulling, picking up speed with Mikan stumbling behind him, not registering at all what was happening.

"W-Wait!" She screeched as she tried to pull back, but was forced to keep running.

"Don't stop!" He yelled, going even faster and Mikan felt like she was going to _die. _

Finally, after running for, like, _forever _(in Mikan's opinion), Ruka finally let go of her wrist, dove down with both his hands wide open, caught something, and then rolled like a ninja, coming to a perfect stop.

"W-What…" Mikan slumped down onto her knees, breathing heavily, her lungs burning as she stared at Ruka, who slowly stood up.

"There, there." He whispered, seemingly stroking something, but Mikan couldn't be sure as his back was facing her. "You don't have to run anymore."

"Ruka…?" Mikan asked, pushing herself up and making her way to Ruka. He gave her the gentlest smile she has ever seen and then showed her what was in his hands.

A rabbit.

An injured rabbit.

"Aw!" Mikan squealed. "It's so cute!"

"Its leg is injured." He petted it softly. "I'll have to go take it to a vet. Otherwise it would have ran far away by now."

"I didn't know you liked animals." She blurted out, but then turned red. It's not like she knew him much, after all, she just met him that day.

"I love them." He admitted albeit embarrassingly, the tips of his ears turning red. "I think it's kind of embarrassing though, a guy loving animals like this."

"What, no!" Mikan exclaimed, waving her arms. "Guys like that are amazing! Girls love guys who have kind hearts."

Ruka smiled. "Thanks."

"Yeah." Mikan turned red. "No problem."

Then they heard a rustle from above.

Then a meow.

"Is that…" Ruka started as he looked up, Mikan following.

"A cat!" She exclaimed, then without a second thought, ran up to the tree and started climbing.

"Wait, Mikan!" Ruka called frantically, wanting to stop her yet not knowing how with his hands full. "That's dangerous!"

"It's alright!" Mikan called, already on the lowest branch and still climbing. "I'm a master at climbing trees. My brother taught me!"

Ruka panicked, pacing back and forth as he kept his eyes on her, watching as she climbed higher and higher until she reached the cat who persistently clawed onto the branch.

"Here, kitty." Mikan murmured as she reached forward, trying to balance her weight on the narrow branch. "Come to me."

"Mikan!" Ruka cried again, closing his eyes, too scared to watch.

"Just a little farther." She mumbled, pushing herself a little farther out on the branch. She crossed her legs over the branch to steady herself, trying to pry the cat's claws off from the branch with her hands. Finally, after a little struggle, the cat was in Mikan's arms and she was grinning in triumph down at Ruka who sighed in relief.

Then they heard a soft _snap._

"What was that?" Mikan asked, her heart pounding.

_"Mikan!" _Ruka yelled in absolute horror as the narrow branch snapped off, and Mikan was falling onto the ground with extreme speed, the cat still in her arms.

Ruka immediately put the rabbit onto his shoulder and jumped to catch her, but he was only able to grab her hand, and she fell directly onto the floor.

"M-Mikan…" Ruka choked. "Are you…alright?"

"Yep!" She lifted the cat up with a bright smile. "The cat's alright!"

"No," Ruka shook his head, kneeling down next to her. "I'm asking if _you're _alright."

"I'm—" Mikan started with a smile, before tears welled up in her eyes and dripped down her cheeks.

"M-Mikan!?" Ruka panicked as he reached for her, holding her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"M-My leg hurts…" Her voice trembled as she desperately tried to wipe her tears away. "It hurts…"

"We need to get you to the nurse." Ruka prepared to lift her up, setting his hands on her waist and thigh.

"What are you two doing?" Another voice called, and Ruka snapped his head towards the sound of footsteps.

"H-Hyuuga-sensei…" Ruka started, nervous. "We—"

"Onii-chan!" Mikan cried loudly like a child, her tears unstoppable. "Onii-chan!"

"Just what on _earth _have you guys done?" Natsume bellowed as he made his way over quickly, taking long strides. He immediately crouched in front of Mikan and gathered her in his arms.

"O-Onii-chan…?" Ruka repeated, a little shaken.

Natsume gave him a disapproving look. "Well?"

"She wanted to save a cat that was stuck on the tree. The branch snapped and she fell down…she says her leg hurts." Ruka explained in a single breath, watching as Natsume carried the sobbing girl towards the exit of the forest.

"Jeez, you never change. That serves you right for wandering into the forest." Natsume mumbled angrily as they walked. "And you, Nogi. Why didn't you stop her?"

"I tried." Ruka murmured. "But I had saved an injured rabbit and my hands were full so I couldn't pull her away. I couldn't catch her when she fell."

"You're—" Natsume stopped midway and sighed in annoyance. It was more than obvious though; _you're useless._

"It wasn't Ruka-pyon's fault!" Mikan screamed. "It was my fault for climbing that tree!"

"I never said it _wasn't_ your fault." Natsume growled. "I'm glad you realize your stupidity."

"That's not how a sensei should talk to his students." Ruka blurted in the heat of the moment, then lifted his brows at Mikan. "Ruka-_pyon?_"

"That's my new nickname for you!" Mikan called with a small smile. "Because you saved the rabbit."

"…Thanks…" Ruka said awkwardly, earning a small scowl from Natsume. Ruka cleared his throat. "Hyuuga-_sensei, _I'll take full responsibility on this. I'll pay for hospital bills and everything."

"Alright then." Natsume tried to control his voice. "I'll take you up on that, _Nogi-san._"

* * *

**Well then...with this, it's gotten even more interesting! Ruka's role in the future is quite clear, isn't it? :P Or maybe not, since I'll be bringing in _even more _surprises! YAYAYAYAYAYAY! Please stay tuned!**

**Please R&amp;R!**

* * *

**~!****PLEASE READ THIS****!~**

**I would like to make an announcement. There was a user—ByakugouGoddess—that claimed, and I quote, "ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMy other account is Wendy402 .ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ"**

**This is definitely ****_NOT_**** true.**

**This account is _mine_ and mine alone. All stories are mine as well. I work and write ****alone****. Forever and always unless I announce otherwise. There has been a recent flamer on my other story, Fate (second last review on Chapter 2, if you're interested on who it is), and we have been going back and forth in a rather distasteful argument, and I have realized that ByakugouGoddess have favorited this flamer as well as their stories. I'm seeing a little bit of connection there, but I'm not certain if ByakugouGoddess is stealing my identity because of my argument with that flamer.**

**Either way, this is highly unacceptable for me, and offensive, as that person is a plagiarizer and all of their stories are STOLEN from others. I wish to have nothing to do with ByakugouGoddess at all.**

**Thus said, if any of you see someone claiming to be me (Wendy402) or working with me, please kindly do one—or all—of the following.**

**1\. Send an email to the admins/report them**

**2\. Tell me and I'll try to deal with them**

**3\. Cuss the crap out of them for me because people like them deserve to die a thousand times (I will literally give you a virtual hug for doing something so heroic for someone else).**

**Thank you, and I hope this never happens to any of you or all hell breaks loose.**


	8. Hyuugas and Nogis

**This chapter gives a little more background info on the characters. Huhu...Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

_"Someday your prince charming will come. Mine just took a wrong turn, got lost, and is too stubborn to ask for directions."_

* * *

X-ray scans. The smell of medicine and rubber gloves. Children cries. Coughs.

_The hospital._

Mikan swore she heard the typical drama music _dun dun dun _in the background once she entered the building with her brother and Ruka. Or maybe it was all just in her head.

How she _hates _hospitals, especially the needles.

"So, _boy. _How are you planning on 'taking full responsibility and paying for hospital bills and everything?'" Natsume sneered once they entered the large glass double doors, making their way to the counter.

"I have the money." Ruka merely answered confidently, adding a small mocking smile at the end.

"A kid like you?" Natsume crinkled his nose slightly. "Do you know how much hospitals procedures and medication cost?"

"I know fully well, thank you." Ruka's tone went a pitch higher in mockery.

A small humorous smile graced Natsume's lips. "Ah yes, the Nogis."

Mikan, who was hopping on one leg the entire time, holding onto Natsume's arm for support, shrunk back a little at their conversation. At the mention of Ruka's family name, Mikan blinked in confusion.

"As a Hyuuga, you know very well who we are, right?" Ruka questioned as his gaze softened sadly. He glanced briefly at Mikan who stared at them with wide, confused eyes.

"Yeah well, not _all _Hyuugas know about you guys." Natsume gestured at Mikan who scowled darkly.

"What are you two even talking about? Who are the Nogis?" She pouted cutely and the two males just let out a small chuckled before completely ignoring her question altogether.

"You'll see soon." Was all Natsume said.

Damn him and his 'mysteriousness.'

* * *

"Looks like a fractured leg and wrist." The doctor concluded after a few rounds of rotating her wrist and leg. She winced in pain again as the doctor carelessly bent her hand backwards. "She'll need a cast. It'll be ok in a few weeks." After a few more minutes of instructions about the cast and putting it on, the trio made their way to the payment counter.

"This is _so_ troublesome." Mikan growled as she slowly walked with her casts and crutches. It was exceptionally hard for her since she had both a broken leg _and _wrist, making it difficult to hold the crutch with her injured hand.

"It's your fault for climbing that tree." Natsume gave a disapproving glance at both kids. "It would have been so much easier if you just had a cast for your wrist."

"Meanie." Mikan stuck her tongue out.

"Good day." Ruka smiled politely at the cashier. "I'm paying for Mikan Sakura…Hyuuga."

"Ah, yes." The cashier smiled back politely. A little while later, they were out of the hospital.

* * *

"Finally! I can finally go home!" Mikan cried in relief, still hopping on her good leg and slowly made her way towards Natsume's car. "Ruka-pyon, do you want a ride?"

"Ah, no. It's ok—" Ruka started but a man—a nurse—ran out from the hospital and approached them with short breaths.

"A-Are you Ruka Nogi-sama?" She asked nervously.

"Yes I am." Ruka answered a little reluctantly.

"Thank you very much for visiting, Nogi-sama!" She quickly bowed deeply and politely. "Was our service pleasing for Nogi-sama and your friends?"

"Yes." Ruka forced out a smile. "I was pleased with everyone."

"That's great." The nurse sighed in relief before bowing again and going back to the hospital. "You are always welcome to come visit again, Nogi-sama."

"Why is she so formal?" Mikan crinkled her nose. "Calling you 'Nogi-sama.'"

"Oh, um." Ruka's face went slight red with embarrassment.

"Well, someone as ignorant as you wouldn't know." Natsume smirked slyly. "Ruka Nogi's family owns the most famous hospital in the world with over a hundred branches."

* * *

"Wait." Sumire knit her eyebrows together and paused very suddenly. "You're last name is Hyuuga, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Mikan answered, narrowing her eyes in confusion at her friend. "Why?"

"As in," Sumire leaned in as if afraid to let others hear. "_The _Hyuuga?"

"Oh my gosh!" Anna and Nono clicked instantly. "_The _Hyuuga? Really?"

"Um…" Mikan laughed nervously. "Yeah…?"

"No. Way." Nono gasped. "I recognized the name instantly when you said it, but I never thought that—!"

"Hotaru, did you already know this?" Sumire demanded at the impassive girl who sat there reading a magazine without a care about their conversation.

"Of course I did. There's nothing Hotaru Imai doesn't know." Hotaru stated casually.

"And you never told us?" Anna whined. "You're so cold."

"I can't believe you and Hyuuga-sensei are part of the family who owns the biggest corporation in the entire _world._" Sumire fanned herself. "I mean, your family must be _rich. _Like, _filthy _rich."

"We're _ok._" Mikan sighed. "That's why I hate telling people my real name. First of all it gives people an opportunity to find out I'm adopted, and second, it makes people stick to me for money and power."

"Well I mean," Anna started. "We were already friends to start with. That proves we're not greedy people who just want your money and power."

"Of course," Sumire added quickly. "Having a friend with money and power is not a bad thing."

Mikan rolled her eyes playfully at her friend.

"I agree on that." Hotaru declared, flipping a page.

"Hotaru, your family is pretty famous too." Nono let out a small laugh. "The Imais are famous for their technology and inventions."

"Yes." Hotaru set her magazine down. "But we still cannot compare to the vast company of the Hyuugas. At most, we're the second or third top corporations after the Hyuugas."

"Ugh." Sumire groaned before lying on the table. "If I had a rich family like that, I could _definitely _buy that new Chanel bag that came out last week."

"Chanel?" Mikan wrinkled her nose. "Those bags are _so _expensive. And besides, you have thousands of bags already. Even if you buy it this time, you'll cast it aside very soon and buy a new one."

"This is called _fashion trend._" Sumire twirled her hair. "I need to be up-to-date in my fashion. I'm the beauty queen, after all."

"Whatever." Mikan rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out.

"Mikan," Sumire sighed and shook her head. "You will _never _understand _true fashion._"

* * *

"…And that's what she said." Mikan continued rambling as Natsume parked the car in their parking lot. Honestly, their house was as normal as it can get—it looked no different than any other average family. A normal person would never guess that _the _Hyuugas were living here.

"Chanel?" Natsume asked as he crinkled his nose slightly. "Ugh, that reminds me of Luna."

"Koizumi-nee-san?" Mikan asked as she tried to get off the car, putting her crutches in front of her and then her good leg, shifting all her weight onto it. "Why?"

"Luna always asks me to buy her new bags and shoes." He pinched the bridge of his nose, as if remembering a bad experience. "Gosh, those things are expensive."

"Sumire said something about 'fashion trends' and 'true fashion' or whatever. I don't get people like that." Mikan huffed softly as she hobbled after her brother to the front door.

"Yeah but," Natsume opened the door for his sister. "Don't girls normally like shopping and buying these things? Why don't you?"

"I don't know." Mikan shrugged as she tried jumping out of her shoe. "Not all girls like shopping, I guess." Her voice softened. "I feel like there are more things in life that cannot be bought like that. Bags, shoes and all those things cannot be taken with you when you die."

"Aren't you a dark one?" Natsume let out a silent laugh as they entered the house. They greeted Kaoru who was in the kitchen. "All the girls I've met likes shopping; Aoi and mom included."

"I'm just an odd one." Mikan smiled. "Perhaps it's the things I've experienced so far."

Natsume's eyes immediately darkened. "What are you talking about, Mikan Sakura _Hyuuga?_"

Mikan did not get a chance to answer as the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it." She quickly said and tried to escape, but it was not easy when you had a broken wrist and leg.

"Sit." Natsume almost pushed her into the chair. "_I'll _go get it."

The doorbell rang again. "Coming, coming." Natsume called exasperatedly, making his way over. He opened the door slightly to check who it was, but then slammed it closed immediately.

"Who is it, onii-chan?" Aoi called as she kneeled on the sofa, elbows propped up on the sofa back. Mikan also watched curiously.

Sighing, Natsume reluctantly opened the door and let someone in.

Mikan lit up. "Ruka-pyon!" She called excitedly, and probably would have jumped up to hug the blonde if she had both legs working.

"Hello, Mikan." He smiled and nodded at Kaoru who had poked her head out the kitchen. "Aunty. So sorry to have visited so suddenly."

"Mikan, dear, your friend?" Kaoru asked, eyes sparkling at the sight of the handsome boy.

"Yep!" She grinned.

"He's a Nogi." Natsume hissed unhappily, glaring daggers at Ruka.

"A Nogi!?" Kaoru immediately rushed over and gave the boy a hug. "Oh my! You are more than welcome here. The Nogi family is a close acquaintance to us."

"Thank you." Ruka smiled charmingly. "Actually, I came here to apologize for injuring Mikan's leg." He gave a remorseful glance at her cast. "It was my fault; I couldn't help her."

"Oh, don't be silly." Kaoru chuckled. "She's just clumsy. She always falls. Don't worry about it, dear."

"It's still my responsibility that she got hurt." Ruka insisted. "But, as you know, our family is very famous in the medical field. I, as the heir to the corporation, has been trained since I was little to become a doctor." He made his way over to Mikan and gave her a reassuring smile. "That's why from now on, to compensate for my mistake, I will come here every week to check up on her injuries to make sure nothing goes wrong and that she recovers as quickly as possible."

"Really?" Mikan's eyes sparkled. "You'll come over every week?"

"Yes." Ruka smiled. "If your parents don't mind."

"Oh, we don't mind at all!" Kaoru exclaimed. "The more the merrier."

"I mind." Natsume tapped his foot impatiently at the others in the room. He narrowed his eyes on Ruka. "_Why_ do we have an outsider in our house every week? And how many times a week are we talking about? How long will it even take for her to recover?"

"A normal fracture takes at least six weeks to heal." Ruka explained professionally. "It may take longer depending on the person and the break. And also, no need to worry, Hyuuga-_sensei. _I will only come once a week."

Natsume growled.

Ruka grinned.

"Ruka-pyon, would you like to stay for dinner?" Mikan asked cheerfully as she pulled him into the seat next to her.

"Sure." Ruka smiled his charming smile again. "If you'll have me."

"No problem!" Kaoru singsonged as she danced back into the kitchen.

"Oh, by the way," Mikan waved for Aoi to come over, and the said girl eagerly bounced over. "This is my little sister, Aoi. She's one year younger than me."

"Nice to meet you, Aoi." Ruka opened his hands for a shake, which Aoi eagerly took.

"Wow, nii-chan. You're like a prince charming! Are you Mikan-nee's boyfriend?" Aoi grinned cheekily, glancing at her brother teasingly with the corner of her eyes.

"Aoi!" Mikan cried, face becoming red. "Sorr—"

"Ah, no." Ruka shook his head, indicating that he didn't mind. "We're just normal friends."

"Aw, that's too bad." Aoi pouted. "I would love a prince as my brother-in-law. You don't like my nee-chan even a bit?" She asked, batting her eyelashes cutely.

"Aoi, enough!" Mikan wailed as she desperately tried to cover her sister's mouth, but Aoi was sneaky and quick, easily getting out of Mikan's reach. Not to mention, Mikan couldn't go around chasing Aoi with her casts.

"Hm, we'll see." Ruka answered mysteriously with a smirk, making Mikan even more red.

"Ruka-pyon, don't tease me!" She whined, earning a laugh.

"Nogi." Natsume hissed. "Get out."

"No, I'm staying here for dinner." Ruka let out a _pleasing _smile. "Your mom agreed."

"_I _never agreed." Natsume stated stubbornly.

"Natsume," Kaoru called from the kitchen. "Play nice. You're older, he's your sister's friend, _and _you're their teacher!"

"Yeah," Ruka smirked. "Play nice, Hyuuga-_sensei._"

"I'm off-duty right now." Natsume cracked his knuckled with a devilish look on his face. "As if I'd let _you _near my sister."

"Natsume-nii's _jealous!_" Aoi sang as she skipped around the group.

"No." Natsume denied with a scowl. "I just don't think this guy is good enough to even be _friends _with Mikan."

"I'm the heir to the Nogi corporations." Ruka argued. "I'm good enough."

"Not to me you aren't." Natsume narrowed his eyes.

"Onii-chan." Mikan lifted her finger and for a second everyone fell silent. "Play _nice._"

Natsume harshly bent her finger backwards.

* * *

**Jealousy is really fun to both read and right. But maybe I overdid Natsume's personality? What do you guys think? But haha, I'm not gonna change it even if you guys don't like it :P I'm just tooo lazy.**

**P.S, I will be posting a new story soon! As to what story, it's the winning one on the poll on my profile. So go check it out for a little preview!**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	9. Early Wedding

**I...I made it...Finally...So sorry for the long wait—if you were waiting. Aye but I doubt I can get over my bad habit of procrastination and the iron claws of writer's block, so sorry in advance and thank you to all you patient readers! Hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

_"We never really move on, we only get used to the pain until it hurts no more."_

* * *

Ruka took off the last of her casts and she wiggled her hand and foot excitedly, loving the feeling of being free again.

Ruka had been coming to Mikan's house every week for the past month and half to check up on her injuries, just like he promised. They had mindless chatter most of the time while he gave her injuries a check, and became much closer in this period. Of course, Natsume was not happy with this at all, and glared at him each time he showed himself in front of him.

But Ruka could not have been more entertained by Natsume's reaction.

"Thanks, Ruka-pyon." She beamed at him, missing the faint blush that dotted his cheeks.

"No problem. It was partly my fault, after all." He smiled back shyly before collecting his things.

"No it wasn't." Mikan pouted. "It was completely my fault for being so reckless."

"I could have stopped you." He argued back and for a moment they both stared at each other, before bursting into laughter.

Then the doorbell rang.

"Ah, I'll go get—" Ruka started, but Natsume was already at the door. Mikan's heart sank as she caught a glimpse of strawberry blonde.

"Luna." Natsume greeted, surprised. "Where have you been?"

She gave him a sweet smile, and he stepped aside to let her in. She walked to the couch and set down her purse. "Yeah, I was a little busy these past days." She seemed almost nervous as she spoke with a shaky voice, glancing around, as if she was expecting a surprise attack.

"Is that so." Natsume stated, not pressing further.

Luna glanced at Mikan. "Ah, are you all better now, Mikan-chan?"

"Ah, yeah." Mikan smiled politely. "My friend Ruka has been coming every week to check on my progress."

"I see," Luna smiled back. "How wonderful."

"Anyways," Luna straightened herself and cleared her throat, continuing with a tight smile as Natsume sat down next to her. "I came here to talk to you about our wedding."

Natsume raised his brows at her.

"I think we should push the date forward." She said.

"Why the sudden rush?" Natsume asked, knitting his brows with confusion.

"We—" Luna looked down and grasped her skirt tightly. "We just have to! Please, Natsume?" She insisted, looking urgent.

Mikan and Ruka were both watching from the dining table where they were sitting at. A stab of pain erupted in Mikan's heart, but somehow she already knew.

It was inevitable, after all.

Maybe pushing the date forward would be better for her. She wanted to just get it over with.

Natsume thought for a moment, his face impassive as always. After a moment he sighed. "Alright, I'll leave it to you."

Luna sighed in relief. "Thank you, Natsume." She stood up with a smile on her face. "I love you."

Natsume allowed himself a small smile in return. "Me too."

Mikan had to turn away, and Ruka noticed this.

"Are you okay?" He whispered to her and she merely nodded, giving him a forced smile.

"I'm fine."

* * *

"Natsume, dear. Are you sure this is really fine? Your wedding was originally going to be six months later, but now it has been shortened to only a month. You won't have time to finish all the preparations!" Kaoru stated in the kitchen, washing the dirty dishes.

"Don't worry, mom." Natsume called back. "Luna has everything under control. Besides, we've been planning this for quite a while anyways, we have everything pretty much done."

"I just don't get it." Kaoru sighed as she came out. "Why the sudden rush?"

"She didn't tell me." Natsume answered calmly. "But from the look on her face, it's something important. I trust her."

Kaoru huffed, but she didn't press further. There's nothing to be done when he already set his mind on something.

Mikan was flipping through a magazine on the dinning table, chin resting on her palm. Honestly, she just wanted to flee from the room, she didn't want to hear them discussing his wedding. But she was afraid it would reveal what she truly felt, so she forced her body to relax and act as casual as ever.

"Oh, that reminds me." Natsume swung his arm behind the couch and turned towards her. "Luna wants you to be her bridesmaid, Mikan."

Her eyes widened and her heart squeezed until she couldn't breathe properly.

"Really?" Mikan forced out a laugh. "Why me? Koizumi-nee-san has a lot of friends."

"She specifically told me she wanted you to be her bridesmaid." Natsume stated casually before turning back to the TV. "And also, stop calling her 'Koizumi-nee-san.' She's going to be a Hyuuga soon too. Just call her 'onee-san.'"

It was hard to breathe. It felt like someone was squeezing her throat. No air would go to her lungs.

"Ok, got it." She wondered if her voice shook at all.

* * *

"Bridesmaid?" Sumire exclaimed dramatically once Mikan delivered the news.

"Hilarious." Hotaru mumbled under her breath as Nono and Anna were too surprised to even utter a word.

"Well, it can't be helped." Mikan sighed. "She specifically said she wanted me to be her bridesmaid."

"So she's not just a Lunatic," Hotaru muttered. "But she's also a sadistic woman who is purposely trying to torture you."

"Hotaru," Mikan chided. "I'm sure it's not like that."

"Ok." Hotaru sighed and looked at Mikan dead in the eye. "I have a few hypotheses." She raised her index finger. "One: she is a demon woman who wants to torture you by showing how close she is with your brother. Two: she wants to befriend you and make sure that no one will stand in her way. Three: she genuinely likes you and wants you as her bridesmaid."

Sumire wrinkled her nose. "Such lame hypotheses."

"Well I leave it to you to think about it." Hotaru shrugged. "I've always antagonized her to make you feel better, but who knows? She might really be a lovely woman. I haven't met her before, my opinions are not reliable."

"Well, _I _want to believe she's a demon." Sumire announced.

"No one cares about what you think." Hotaru stated coldly, earning a death glare.

"But I feel like antagonizing her is not such a good idea…" Anna commented thoughtfully.

"I agree. Once they get married, she'll be your sister-in-law, right? Antagonizing her will only make it more painful for you." Nono added and this time Hotaru nodded.

"It's like giving yourself false hope and a string to hold onto." Hotaru put a hand on Mikan's shoulder. "Like we've been saying all along, just give up on him. You and I both know it's not impossible."

"Hard." Sumire butted in. "But not impossible."

"Besides!" Nono squealed excitedly. "Next week is the school trip!"

"OMG!" Sumire gasped. "I completely forgot!" She cursed and rummaged her bag for a magazine. "I _have _to go shopping before then. I need to buy this sundress, these shorts, this t-shirt…"

"Try to enjoy yourself as much as possible." Hotaru let out a rare smile as she gave Mikan another pat. "We're going to Mount Gassan for a ski trip, after all."

"Ah, we're going to Nishikawa town first and we'll be living there for three days. On the fourth we'll be going to Mount Gassan." Anna announced and the other girls squealed.

"It'll be amazing! Greenery plus snow!" Nono clasped Mikan's hand as her eyes practically gleamed. "It'll be _so _much fun."

"Yeah!" Mikan agreed with equally sparkling eyes. "I can't wait to go! This'll be the best trip we had so far!"

"Don't get too excited." Hotaru stated firmly, her voice cutting through the excitement. "Don't forget Hyuuga-sensei is also on this trip."

Mikan's face paled for a moment, and the others didn't make a sound for a long minute.

"I-It's ok." Nono laughed nervously, still clasping Mikan's hand. "We'll be with you. Besides, he's a teacher so he'll mostly be separate from us."

"Well, it is possible that we may not see him much." Hotaru said with a sly smile. "Pray that he doesn't become the supervisor of the group."

* * *

"I'm sure all of you know that next week is our school trip." Natsume started with his professional mask. The class erupted in excited squeals and hoots.

"Since it's approaching us quickly," Natsume shushed the class. "We have to make groups. I've been in numerous meetings with the other teachers regarding this. We were discussing whether we should put you in groups or let you choose yourself."

"Sensei, let us choose!" Mochu shouted and others called in agreement.

"Please~?" A few girls whined and Natsume motioned for the class to quiet down.

"After a few debates, we have decided to let you guys choose. However, it must be a group of six with three girls and three boys." The class erupted in cheer, except for a few.

"Tch." Hotaru muttered darkly under her breath.

"Aw, that means two of us has to go to another group…" Anna mumbled sadly.

"I'll go." Nono volunteered. "Anna, will you come with me?"

"Of course." Anna smiled. "We'll still see each other in the hotels anyway."

"Aw~" Mikan whined. "But it'll be so much more boring without you two!"

"Sensei," someone raised their hand. "How many people per room?"

"Five." Natsume answered and more noise erupted in the room.

"That means we can be in a room together!" Sumire squealed and the others nodded excitedly in agreement. "Then that's not too bad."

"If you've decided on your group, write it on this paper." Natsume held up a graphed paper. "I'll put it on my desk."

Like bees to honey, almost everyone swarmed over to his desk and fought to write their group down first. Mikan's group was one of the last, as they waited for the mob of people to go back to their seats.

Natsume took a look at the names, and found that the students organized themselves surprisingly well. Mikan, Hotaru and Sumire formed a group with Ruka, Koko and Kitsu. Anna and Nono joined in with Wakako, Yuu and two other boys that hardly participate in class. Anna and Nono insisted that they were happy with their group when Mikan and other others asked.

"Alright, everyone get back to your seats." Natsume called over the ruckus. Once everyone were back into their seats, he cleared his voice. "After school today we will have another meeting. Teacher chaperones to each group will be announced by tomorrow."

"Ah, I wish Hyuuga-sensei becomes our chaperone…" A few girls whispered. Mikan looked down, wanting to avoid all eye contact as she, too, wanted Natsume as her chaperone.

"No." Hotaru whispered sternly to her, completely seeing through her. "It's better if he's not. He'll cause you unnecessary stress."

"I…" Mikan sighed. "…Know."

"Try to take your mind off everything, okay?" Hotaru finally whispered and turned away with an expression that was dangerously close to sympathy.

_I'll try, _Mikan thought to herself bitterly and pitifully.

* * *

"List of teacher chaperones and official groups are up." Sumire stated as Mikan walked into the classroom the next day. She seemed awfully serious and a bit…nervous? A rare emotion for the almighty Sumire Shouda. "You should probably go check it out."

"Oh, ok." Mikan answered, a bit puzzled, and set her back down on her desk before making her way to the billboard.

"Let's see…where's our group?" She mumbled to herself once she pushed through the growing crowd of students that wanted to take a look at the groups as well. Her eyes scanned the columns and rows until her eyes landed on her name. "We are group five…the chaperone is…"

"M-Mikan?" Mikan blinked and snapped out of her trance at the call of her voice. She turned around to see Ruka standing next to her with a surprised look on his face. "Y-You're really Mikan? You were turned into a statue just now!"

"Ruka!" Mikan wailed and attached herself to his arm. "Our chaperone! Our chaperone!" She repeated as she cried.

"What?" He was freaking out now, and people were starting to stare at them. "Where?"

"Here!" She pointed at the board. "We're group five and our chaperone is…" She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"…Hyuuga-sensei." He read the name aloud. "Oh, I see." He sighed and pet her head softly. "It's ok. Don't worry, I'm sure no one will find out."

Mikan snapped her head up to look at him, but Ruka stared back at her with knowing eyes. For a terrible moment, Mikan thought he knew. She was sinful, and she thought he would be disgusted at her. But then he leaned down and whispered into her ear so only she could hear.

"No one will find out that he's your brother, so it'll be ok." And with that one sentence, Mikan's whole body relaxed slightly and she allowed herself a laugh.

"Yeah, hopefully." She smiled before the two of them made their way to the classroom.

"Ah, she's back." Sumire stated once Mikan and Ruka entered the classroom, Hotaru standing next to her. After seeing the male, Sumire's eyes immediately narrowed and she broke into a huge, cattish grin. "And with the prince charming, too."

"Prince—!" Mikan flushed, and Ruka couldn't help but turn a little red too.

"Mikan." Hotaru came up to her and gave her a heavy pat on the shoulder, her eyes absolutely full of pity. "Looks like luck is not on your side this time either."

Sumire stood up and gave her an identical pat on the other shoulder. "Good luck. We shall watch from the side and root for you."

_"Traitors."_ Mikan hissed as the two retreated back to their desks, avoiding Mikan's wrath.

* * *

**Huhu...what do you think will happen on the trip? Maybe Natsume will finally start to have feelings for her? But it's so close to his wedding too! Is he really going to get married...? Please tell me what you think! :D:D:D**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	10. Gone

**Yay! Thank you to those who have stayed with me so far! I think maybe you guys may like this chapter...So hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

_"Every time I find a key to happiness, someone changes the lock…"_

* * *

"Everyone here?" Yuu asked just before they got on the bus. The entire grade was going on this trip, so there were a lot of people and a lot of buses. "Please see if all your group members are here."

After a few minutes of bustling around and looking for their roommates, the students of class 2B answered in unison, "We're all here."

Natsume nodded and called for them to get onto the bus one by one, and sitting close to their group members.

"I'm so excited." Sumire squealed as she got on after Mikan. Sumire and Mikan sat together while Hotaru and Ruka sat across from them (Hotaru claimed that she could not sit with Mikan because she was too noisy and that her idiocy will contaminate her from sitting so close. Sumire was disappointed she couldn't sit with the 'prince' but rather not argue with Hotaru).

The bus ride was about four hours and forty minutes, with a few bathroom breaks in between. Most people were exchanging snacks, taking selfies and blasting music. And of course, on school trips like these, students become a little bit bolder.

"Ne, Hyuuga-sensei, do you have a girlfriend?" A girl who was sitting right behind Natsume asked, making her voice a few pitches higher to seem 'cute.'

"That's a secret." Natsume answered with a sly grin and the girls whined.

"What? That's no fair." Another said and the others nodded their heads in agreement. "Then, how old are you?"

"That's a secret too." Natsume didn't even bother looking at them this time.

"Such shameless girls." Sumire clicked her tongue in annoyance. "As if he would answer any of those stupid questions."

"You would probably go and do those shameless things as well if you didn't know he was related to Mikan." Hotaru stated while flipping through a magazine she brought.

"I would _not._" Sumire flipped her hair and huffed. Mikan tried to stifle her laugh.

Nishikawa town was warmer than expected, and was a small town filled with trees of all colors and the Sagae River runs through the town. For the first three days of the trip, it was fairly easy going with some team-building activities such as climbing trees (which team can get to the top the fastest), riddle-answering (they had to go around and ask locals about things in order to answer the questions), and, of course, shopping.

The inn that they lived in was small and traditional, girls and boys on different floors and they were not allowed to go to each others' rooms (which of course, they all ignored and snuck out to each others' room either way).

But the real fun and excitement started on the fourth day when they rode the bus to Mt. Gassan, where they would be able to go skiing and snowboarding.

Simply speaking: snow.

"Whoa!" Koko and Kitsu practically ran off the bus once they arrived. "So white!"

"Over there is where you can rent the equipment for skiing and snowboarding." Natsume stated once all the students got off the bus. Many were too busy playing with snow to actually listen. "There will also be coaches to help those who don't know how to ski or snowboard. Please stay together and don't wander off on your own."

With that, the students followed Natsume to the shop to rent equipment. Many were already able to start right away, doing tricks and going like a pro.

Others, like Mikan, went to the coaches to get some basic lessons. Most of the other girls surrounded Natsume like fleas and begged for him to teach them.

"You should probably go over too." Sumire grinned, elbowing Mikan. "Don't want the other girls to take advantage of him."

"Advantage?" Mikan rolled her eyes. "Please, this is a school trip and he's a teacher."

"Girls are hungry wolves that prey whenever they get the chance." Sumire wagged her finger. "Plus, it's a _school trip, _where everyone becomes a bit bolder and casual. It's the time where the line between student and teacher gets blurred."

"That's just creepy." Mikan wrinkled her nose. "I'll go ask a coach to help me."

"Fine." Sumire sighed and rolled her eyes. "Do whatever you want."

"Mikan!" Sumire and Mikan turned their heads at the voice. Ruka came running up to them with his famous charming smile, Koko, Kitsu and, surprisingly, Hotaru came up behind him. "Do you need help skiing?"

"That's right," Sumire lightened up and gave Mikan another playful nudge. "Ruka-kun's really good at all sports."

"Not really," Ruka laughed it off. "But I _can _help you if you want."

"Yes!" Mikan grinned. "That would be awesome! Thank you Ruka-pyon!"

"Nogi." Hotaru came up and leaned in so that only he would hear her. Her tone dropped and became both teasing and menacing. "Take care of her for me, will you?"

Gulping a little, Ruka nodded immediately. Hotaru gave him a sly smile. "Good."

"Ruka-pyon?" Mikan tilted her head and Ruka gave her another charming smile.

"Let's start with the basics, okay?" He asked and she bounded after him.

"'Kay!" She chirped happily as he slowly taught her how to use the equipment and how to control her movements.

* * *

Natsume narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight of Ruka and Mikan so close together.

"Sensei, if you don't do something she will probably get snatched away by the prince." Hotaru stated calmly as she stood next to Natsume, looking at the two.

"Whatever." Natsume looked away coolly. "I don't really care."

Hotaru smirked inwardly at she gazed at him. "If you say so, _sensei._"

There was a moment of silence as Hotaru continued watching Mikan and Ruka, while Natsume tried to focus on other students, but kept looking back at them.

"But I must say," Hotaru started after a while. "Nogi is a really good teacher. Mikan can already start to ski. To be able to teach an idiot so quickly, he has talent."

"Are you implying something, Imai-san?" Natsume grumbled as he followed her gaze.

"No." Hotaru answered flatly. "I'm not implying—I'm flat out telling you that Nogi is a better teacher than you will ever be."

"You really have no respect." Natsume growled. "Or manners. I'm still your elder and your teacher."

"On school trips, the line between student and teacher gets blurred." Hotaru stated. "Besides, I never once thought of being respectful to someone who hurt my best friend so much."

Natsume went silent for a heartbeat, before saying flatly, "She's my sister."

"Yes," Hotaru sighed. "But she is also just a girl." With that, she went back to join the others, leaving Natsume standing there.

* * *

"I'm exhausted." Sumire dropped face first onto her futon in their room. "And hungry."

"We should probably go take a shower first before dinner." Anna suggested.

"Oh! Good idea!" Nono chimed in happily. "It's a hot spring bath. Perfect after a day of activity in the cold!"

"That sounds amazing." Sumire grinned as she got up. "What are we waiting for?"

"Okay!" Mikan cheered. "Let's go!" The girls quickly gathered their things and made their way downstairs where the hot spring baths were. It was big and spacious, with large, glorious windows that allowed them to see both the trees and the snow of the town and mountain respectively.

"So warm~" Anna sighed dreamily once she slipped in.

The other girls nodded in agreement. Hotaru put a small towel over her eyes and was silent.

Others in the room started some conversations, but the girls didn't really say anything as they were too caught up in the relaxing water. But then a few minutes ticked by and all of a sudden everyone snapped out of their 'relaxation mode' when they heard a loud cry next door. Followed by a loud splash.

The male baths.

"What was that?" Nono asked nervously after a second.

"Sounded like…" Mikan started, putting a finger on her chin.

"Nogi." Hotaru answered, still as relaxed as ever. The girls exchanged glances with each other.

* * *

"That was kind of weird." Sumire commented as they changed back.

"Yeah, but that aside, the bath was really nice." Anna said as she finished changing. "You guys ready?"

"Almost." Mikan answered as she brushed her hair, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Yep." Nono answered along with Hotaru. They made their way outside to the hotel hallway when another person walked out from next door.

Ruka.

He looked a bit flustered, embarrassed, and annoyed. Koko and Kitsu came behind him with obnoxious laughter, which they failed to stifle. "Come on man, you're no fun."

"I'm _so _going to kill you guys." Ruka mumbled under his breath. The two boys just gave him a pat on his back, laughed a bit more, before they left for their rooms.

"Hey Ruka-pyon." Mikan skipped over. "Was that you just now? That cry."

"Oh god." Ruka covered his red face with his hands. "You guys heard? I'm so sorry."

"No biggie." Nono offered but Hotaru came up to him with an evil glint in her eyes.

"What happened?" She asked as she pulled out a small mic and camera from her pocket.

"I was pushed into the water by surprise, okay!?" Ruka snapped in embarrassment. "Just forget it!"

"But it was pretty…loud." Anna started slowly with Sumire nodding her head.

"Sorry Ruka-kun," Sumire batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. "But we weren't the only ones in there…and not the only ones who heard."

Ruka became even redder, if possible.

"I-I'm gonna go." He stammered. "Uh, see you guys…" He robotically turned around and made his way back.

"Poor guy." Mikan shook her head, and the others did the same, but they couldn't stop themselves from giggling.

"He's cute though." Sumire commented dreamily. "_Really _cute."

Natsume waited around the corner for them to leave before he went over.

* * *

The trip went on without a hitch. Teachers and students alike were enjoying their fun vacation together as a large group (teachers were especially happy that the students didn't give them any trouble so far). Soon it was already their last day on the trip, and nighttime was rapidly approaching.

"Girls, you can ski down the mountain one last time, but after that we need to go back. It's dangerous when it's dark." Natsume called to the girls as others began to bring their equipment back to the store and began boarding the bus back to the hotel.

"Okay!" They called back before skiing down the course. Mikan was able to learn how to ski surprisingly fast with Ruka teaching, and could already keep up with her friends. They were already reaching the bottom, but as they neared it, Mikan tried to go over a bump in the snow but lost control over her skis and tumbled down, rolling sideways into the forest.

"Hey guys!" Sumire called once they came to a stop at the bottom. They were ahead of Mikan, and didn't realize what had happened. "Where did Mikan go?"

They looked around, but all they could see were snow and trees.

"Maybe she's still catching up?" Nono suggested. They started calling her name, walking around and trying to find her. After a few minutes of only hearing their voices with no form of response, they began to get scared.

"Where did she go?" Anna began shaking.

"It's probably a prank." Sumire forced out a laugh. "Alright! You win, Mikan. You can come out now."

Still no response.

It was beginning to snow.

"Shit." Sumire curse. "I'm scared."

"No!" Nono cried. "We have to find her quick!"

"Looking for her like this will only get us in danger too." Hotaru said coldly. "Right now we have to get back up and tell the teachers."

"Y-Yeah." Anna agreed. "We have to hurry."

* * *

"Those girls are late." Natsume mumbled to himself as he tapped his foot impatiently, glancing at his watch. All of the other students were already boarded on the bus, and they were all waiting for the five girls. "I shouldn't have let them go."

"Sensei!" He heard a cry in the distance. Squinting his eyes in the snow outside, he made out the figures of four people. "Sensei!"

Natsume's eyes widened when he saw the four girls, and quickly let the girls onto the bus as they caught their breath. Realizing something was wrong, Natsume asked quickly, "Where's Mikan?"

"S-She—" Nono stuttered while Anna and Sumire looked like they were about to cry. All of them seemed strangely pale.

"What happened?" Natsume asked, alarmed.

"She disappeared!" Sumire cried as tears rolled down her cheeks now. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

"Disappeared?" Natsume repeated, dread filling his veins. "Where? How did it happen?"

"We were skiing." Hotaru explained while the others were crying. Her voice shook the slightest bit, but she composed herself well. "We were ahead of her, and once we got to the bottom and looked around, she was gone. I believe that she may have lost balance and rolled somewhere, but since it was snowing and there were forests surrounding the mountain, we couldn't find her."

"Mikan is missing?" Ruka intervened as he came over to them, worried. "We have to go find her! Sensei, I'll gladly go—"

"No." Natsume cut him off sternly. "I'll go. If I don't return in fifteen minutes, tell the driver to take you guys back first."

"But—" Ruka wanted to argue, but the look on Natsume's face made him stop. Instead, he sighed and nodded his head.

With that, Natsume ran out into the snow and made his way down the ski course, calling her name all the while.

* * *

**So how what do you think? Liked it? Something to improve/change? What will happen next? Please send me all of your thoughts! I absolutely love hearing them, and so many people have amazing guesses on what's gonna happen!**

**Please R&amp;R! :D**


	11. Dresses

**I'm sorry for taking so long again...I came back from summer school about a week ago and I still have about a week left of summer before I start 11th grade...IB...I cry just thinking about it...and then everything that comes after that, SAT, portfolios, college applications...Pray for me. ;(**

* * *

_"The longest distance on Earth is not North to South, it's when I stand in front of you and you ignore me."_

* * *

Numb.

Cold.

She was having trouble breathing. Her body felt so very heavy and she couldn't feel, not to mention move, her fingers and toes.

She could barely keep her eyes open.

Snow was steadily getting heavier and she wondered how long it has passed. Where was she? All she could see was white snow and dark trees.

_Get up, _her mind ordered and she tried to push herself up, but her limbs were too frozen and limp to hold her weight. She fell back down and winced at the sharp pain the cold of the snow gave her tender skin.

The clearness of her thoughts of survival now blurred and jumbled together. She was slowly blanking out.

_I'm going to die here..._She closed her eyes.

* * *

"Fuck." Natsume cursed under his breath as he treaded through the ever-growing snow.

It was rapidly getting dark, and the thick snow didn't help his vision one bit. His limbs were steadily growing colder until they hurt.

"Mikan!" He yelled and listened for a response, but all he heard was his own echo. Dammit, how many times has he called her name now?

"Mikan!" He called again, fear and panic making him even number than he really is. He was beginning to wonder if he should turn back and call the police. If he continues on like this, he may get in danger as well.

He called her name one last time and waited for almost a minute before he turned around and started walking back. Then he felt slightly off as he glanced at the forest. He went in as if in a trance without a second thought.

He walked for almost ten minutes, trudging in the snow, he saw something that blended in the snow, but was definitely off.

"Mikan?" He whispered as he slowly and cautiously made his way over, taking a closer look at the bulge. It was definitely a body.

"Hey, are you okay?" Once he made sure it was a person, he immediately ran over and wiped off the heavy snow that was piled on the body. Turning the person around so he could see the face, his eyes widened in recognition and horror.

"Mikan! Oh god." He gathered her frozen body in his arms. Her skin felt like ice against his. He felt her breathe. He gave a sigh of relief; she's still alive.

"Mikan, wake up." He pleaded desperately as he stood up and tried to bring her back to the bus. "Please wake up."

* * *

Floating...floating...it felt like her body was floating in water. Is this how dying feels like? But then again, her body also felt very heavy...

_"Mikan!"_

She heard a sound...a familiar sound...

_"Mikan!"_

She stirred a little. She knows that voice. _Onii-chan..._

_I'm over here,_ she wanted to shout back. She wanted to stand up and go to him. She wanted to see him and hug him.

She heard the sound of footsteps. She felt someone hold her.

_"Mikan, wake up."_ She heard his voice shake. _"Please wake up."_

_Natsume-nii-chan...that's you, right?_

_Onii-chan...I love you..._

Mikan felt something warm press against her lips.

* * *

Her breathing was getting shallower. He forced himself to go faster, his calves ached as they tried to get through the snow.

His breath was fogging up in the snow rapidly as he tried to get back as soon as possible. His body was burning all over, from the cold or from overexerting his muscles, he wasn't so sure.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he finally saw the bus and he pushed himself to go even faster. Her body was limp and cold against him.

"Look!" Natsume heard Anna yell from the door of the bus. "It's sensei and Mikan!"

He quickly got onto the bus and set her in a seat. Natsume gasped for breath as he turned to the driver who looked taken aback, he must have a crazed look. "Drive to the nearest hospital _now._"

* * *

Mikan woke up in a hospital room. Her body still shivered, though the room and the bed were warm. She forced herself to sit and scanned the room.

It was empty.

_I wonder what time it was._

_I wonder if Hotaru and the others are alright._

_I wonder if they arrived home already._

_I wonder where onii-chan is._

She breathed out and was half expecting it to fog up.

The door clicked open.

"You're awake."

Her eyes turned towards the source of the familiar voice, and she was relieved. So, so relieved.

"Onii-chan." Mikan's voice broke, and she felt hot tears prick her eyes. She held out her arms. "Onii-chan."

Without a second thought, he came over and gathered her into his arms, and Mikan pressed her cheek against his chest and began sobbing.

"Sh…" He cooed as he caressed her hair. "You're alright now."

"Where are the others?" She choked out. "Hotaru, Anna, Nono and Sumire?"

"They're fine." He answered. "They're probably already back in Tokyo."

"I was so scared." She sobbed. "I thought I was going to die there."

"Sh…" He whispered again. "I already called home. The doctor said you should stay here for another day." He let go and wiped her tears away gently. Then he left without another word, the door clicking closed behind him.

She slept the rest of the cold away.

* * *

He breathed in and out deeply as he leaned against the wall, his eyes flicking up to stare at her door.

_"Did she wake up?" _He breathed out again as he listened to his mother's worried voice.

"Yes, she just woke up." He answered into the phone.

_"She's alright?" _Kaoru asked again.

"She's fine." He said. "Maybe a bit traumatized, but she'll be fine in a bit."

_"Really," _Kaoru sighed on the other line. _"To think that something like this would happen on a school trip…and so soon to your wedding…"_

The mention of his wedding unsettled him a bit. It seemed that that one word carried all the weight in the world. "Yeah, but I don't think this will interfere with the wedding. Don't worry, mom."

_"I hope so. Well, I guess we could postpone the wedding, but Luna…"_

"There's no need to postpone the wedding." Natsume insisted. "She's fine."

_"If you say so." _There was a muffled voice. _"Aoi asks you to say hi to Mikan for her."_

"Okay." Natsume sighed. "Bye."

He leaned his head against the wall with a soft 'bang' and closed his eyes. He breathed out.

_"Onii-chan...I love you…"_

He wanted to punch something.

* * *

"Mikan!" Kaoru exclaimed once her son and her eldest daughter entered the door. "Oh I was so worried about you! Are you alright? How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, mom." Mikan laughed as her mom gathered her into a bear hug.

"How did it happen?" Aoi asked as she joined in the hug.

"I guess I lost control when I was skiing down the mountain and rolled off into the forest. That's why it took so long to find me." She explained sheepishly.

"Really, you should be more careful." Kaoru scolded. "When Natsume called us, we nearly had a heart attack."

"I'm sorry." Mikan bowed her head.

"Just be more careful next time." Kaoru walked away and Mikan let out a breath of relief.

"Nee-chan, let's go to your room!" Aoi took Mikan's hand and they began jogging up the stairs.

"Mikan." They paused to look at Natsume. "The day after tomorrow Luna wants to go try out the dresses." He rubbed his neck. "Do you feel up to it?"

"Sure." Mikan smiled. They disappeared around the corner.

* * *

"Mikan-chan!" Luna squealed and gave her a tight hug. "Are you all better? I was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine," Mikan smiled politely at her. "Sorry to worry you."

Luna let out a sweet smile as she looped her arm with Mikan's. "Come, come. Which dress do you like?"

"Um…" Mikan looked around as Luna led her into a row of beautiful dresses.

"Luna," They heard Natsume call a few rows back. "You should try on your dress now."

"Okie!" She called back. "Mikan-chan, take a look around yourself, okay? If you like a dress, go ahead and try it on."

Mikan nodded as Luna disappeared behind the dresses. She was glad she was at the very back of the store, hidden by the many dresses. It was quiet, and gave her a chance to clear her head.

She ran her hands over the different fabric and looked around for a dress that would be suitable for a bridesmaid.

Her hand stilled against a dress as her eyes sparkled.

"Where's Mikan-chan?" Mikan jumped slightly at the familiar voice and quickly made her way over to the changing rooms.

"There she is." Natsume motioned her over.

"Mikan-chan, what do you think?" Luna asked excitedly as she twirled in her wedding gown.

Mikan's eyes sparkled at the sight of her gown. It had a sweetheart neckline with the top being ice blue and the bottom was made with different shades of blue and crystals that sparkled and changed color with every movement.

"It's absolutely beautiful, onee-san! It fits you very well." Luna's eyes gleamed with happiness at her compliment and the fact that Mikan called her 'onee-san.'

"Mikan-chan, you are the sweetest girl ever." She giggled. "Then this one it is."

She went back in to change. When she came back out, Natsume nodded and motioned the employee over, telling her to wrap up the dress.

"Mikan-chan, did you find a dress you like?" Luna turned to her with her charming smile.

"Um…" Mikan thought it over, before finally saying, "I-I'm not so good with dresses. Onee-chan, could you choose a dress for me?"

"Hm…" Luna set a finger against her chin and thought for a moment. "I think I saw this really cute dress back there." Mikan and Natsume followed as Luna weaved her way through the rows.

"Ah! Here it is." She held up an adorable baby blue dress that reached mid-thigh with cute ruffles. Indeed it fit well with the bride's gown. "Go ahead and try it on. See if it fits."

It fit perfectly.

"You look so adorable!" Luna squealed. "Give me a twirl."

Mikan did as she was told.

"Do you like it?" She asked excitedly and Mikan nodded with a smile. "Natsume? What do you think?"

"It fits her very well." Natsume stated simply, but that was enough to make Mikan beam.

"Then we'll take this one as well." Luna told the employee who nodded. Mikan went back in to change, and the employee wrapped up her dress as well.

"Did you already try your suit on?" Luna asked Natsume who merely nodded in response. Luna looked at him skeptically. "Does it fit with my dress? I don't really trust your taste in fashion."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsume grumbled. "It fits with your dress."

"Are you sure?" Luna raised her eyebrows and insisted, just to piss Natsume off.

"Yes." He said flatly and Luna laughed, Mikan joining in.

"Ok, ok." Luna wiped an invisible tear. "Then shall we go?" The other two nodded their heads. Luna walked out first, but Natsume pulled Mikan back.

"Is that all you want?" He asked her and she blinked at him cluelessly. He started rubbing his neck again, and seemed kind of awkward. "I saw you just now…looking at that other dress."

Mikan finally understood and beamed at her brother. "Nah, the dress onee-chan picked is cute and fits with her gown. If I wore the other one, I would stand out too much."

Natsume shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"What are you guys doing?" Luna asked, poking her head back through the door.

"Nothing." Natsume answered casually as he followed behind her.

Everything after that was more or less like a blur. All Mikan could remember about that month before their wedding was that Natsume was always busy and often didn't come home until it was dark out.

His phone rang constantly and he looked quite stressed. Luna often came to their house and the wedding was the only topic at the dinner table.

It almost felt like Mikan was suffocating.

"Hey." There was a pat. Mikan snapped out of her daydream and turned to look at the speaker.

"Ruka-pyon." She greeted with a tight smile.

"You okay?" He looked at her with concerned eyes. "You seem down lately."

"Oh, it's nothing." Mikan laughed it off. "It's just that onii-chan's wedding is so near. They're all preparing for it and the stress is starting to get to me too."

"Ah," Ruka nodded in understanding. "I'm sure it must be hard on you. I believe reporters and paparazzi will also be there."

"Ugh, I hope not." Mikan grimaced in distaste.

"The Hyuuga family _is _very famous after all." Ruka shrugged. "My family was also invited to the wedding."

"Onii-chan is trying hard to keep it simple and private." Mikan sighed. "But I guess that's not working very well…"

"Well, if no one says anything hopefully the reporters won't know about it." Ruka let out a smile, and Mikan couldn't help but smile back.

"Watcha guys talking about?" Sumire piped up from behind with a cattish grin.

"Onii-chan's wedding." Mikan sighed again.

"Don't sigh, sighing is bad luck." Sumire chided while wagging her finger.

"You guys are taking forever." Hotaru spoke up with her ever monotone voice. "School's over. Let's go."

"Okie." Mikan smiled as she grabbed her bag. "Walk with us, Ruka?"

"Sure." He smiled.

Students filled the hallways as they poured out the school, excited to go home or to hang out with their friends.

Among the many students, there was a man that no one recognized leaning against the gates, his eyes focused on the small group and his lips curled up into a smile.

* * *

**Cliffhanger? :D Who do you think this guy is? What do you think he wants? Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to update, and thank you so so so much to those who favorited, followed or reviewed, as well as those who are silent readers.**

**I'm having a very bad writers block for my other story, Competition. I might just leave it alone for now and update this story and Bite first. Sorry in advance to those who read Competition as well.**

**Please R&amp;R! :D**


	12. The Wedding

**Ladies and gentlemen, I am back! Yes! :D:D:D:D**

* * *

_"Strangers become friends, but it's sad how friends become strangers."_

* * *

Black hair. Dark green eyes. A smile so natural it could only be done when practiced over and over again.

An uneasy feeling washed over Mikan as they neared the gates where he was standing, but she stuck close to her friends and avoided any eye contact with the man. The others didn't seem to notice him and continued talking like normal.

Just when she was about to step out of the campus, the man took a strong hold of her arm and pulled her towards him with inhumane strength.

"Mikan?" She heard her friends stop and call her, their voices puzzled, but she couldn't concentrate on her friends. All she could concentrate on were those abysses of eyes that were staring right into her and the smile that never wavered.

"I believe you are Mikan Hyuuga?" He asked and his voice was velvety and smooth, making her knees grow weak, but she was shaking as he held her.

"I—" She stuttered. "Who are you?"

"My, where are my manners?" He chuckled slightly before he removed his hand. "My name is Kuonji. I would like to ask you to do me a favor."

"I don't know you." Mikan took a step forward, and he took a step forward. Somehow the way he held her gaze made her body freeze and she was unable to run away. He leaned towards her until his mouth was directly over her ear.

"You love Natsume Hyuuga, yes?" He breathed and Mikan's eyes grew wide, her heart beat faster. "Help me ruin their wedding. Don't worry, you're family. They can't do anything to you. I will tell you exactly what to do."

"Why do you want to do this?" Mikan asked under her breath and he let out a laugh.

"Because Luna Koizumi is _mine._"

* * *

"You know him?" Hotaru asked after a while. It was only the two of them now; the others went home the other way.

"I…don't." Mikan admitted cautiously.

"Then why were you talking to him?"

"He knows onee-san."

Hotaru stopped walking, and Mikan followed her lead, puzzled. "What did he say?"

Mikan looked down and bit her lip. "He wants me to ruin their wedding."

Hotaru raised her eyebrows.

"Hotaru, I don't know what to do." Mikan said desperately, clasping Hotaru's arm. "That guy knows! He knows I like onii-chan. If I don't do what he says, he might tell people—"

"Mikan." Hotaru called firmly. "Do _you _want to ruin their wedding?"

"I—" Mikan covered her ears with hand hands and began sobbing. "I don't know. I don't know, Hotaru."

"It's ok." Hotaru sighed. "Calm down. Think about it carefully. I will always be on your side, ok?" Hotaru put a hand on Mikan's shoulder comfortingly and Mikan nodded as she sniffed.

* * *

Four hours before the wedding.

Mikan was more nervous than she's ever been. In fact, she was scared. Her hands were shaking and turned cold. She couldn't concentrate on anything, and the only thing to keep her distracted was playing with her fingers.

"You look beautiful, Mikan!" Mikan looked up at her mom who was gorgeously dolled up, a delighted smile gracing her red lips.

"Thank you." Mikan answered robotically, but her mother didn't seem to notice from all the excitement.

"Now we just need to get your hair up and put on makeup." She was led to sit in a chair and her mother instantly began curling and tying up her smooth, brunette hair into a neat bun, completed with a band of blue roses. Her makeup was simple.

"My, you really are beautiful." Kaoru said gently once she finished. Then she giggled as she thought of something. "I wonder when you'll get married. I bet you will look absolutely gorgeous in a wedding gown."

"Mom! Don't say weird things like that." Mikan's cheeks burned at the idea and her mom only laughed harder.

"I'm going to go check on Luna and Natsume, okay? Aoi is taking a look at the church."

"Okay." Mikan called back and her mom left the room, the door clicking closed behind her.

Then all the uneasiness washed over her again like a tsunami. She sank in her seat as her mind began to wander. Should she? Is she even capable of stopping a wedding?

Her phone rang and she jumped at the sound. She received a text message, from a number she didn't recognize.

Wondering what it was—probably some advertisement—she nearly dropped her phone as she read what it said.

_Drag the wedding on until 7. Don't let them say their vows._

Drag the wedding on? She checked the time, it was only two right now. How long does a wedding usually take? Even if the wedding ceremony itself took two or three hours, there's no way she can can drag the wedding on for that long.

She began shaking, the phone nearly slipping out of her cold fingers, and for the millionth time she wondered is she should really do this, if she should just stop and turn back.

Maybe she should tell someone.

_Hotaru. _

Mikan scrambled out of the room, clumsily making her way to the reception in her new high heals and dress. She was so extremely relieved when she saw Hotaru in her lovely dress, holding a camera as she took pictures around the church.

"Hotaru!" Mikan called and nearly pushed Hotaru over as she jumped for a hug.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Hotaru seethed after she pushed Mikan away and made sure she got a good whack.

"Hotaru, I need help." Mikan said desperately, shoving her phone into Hotaru's unwilling hands and showed her the text.

"Drag the wedding on until 7?" She read out loud and laughed. "What, does he really think you, a high schooler, could drag a wedding on for that long?"

"I don't know!" Mikan cried and clutched her carefully set hair, only to get slapped away by Hotaru's hands. "I don't want to do this! I-I'm scared! But…But that guy was scary too…and he knows my secret…Hotaru, help me!"

"My goodness." Hotaru rubbed her temples. "Calm down, would you? I need some time to think and your shrill voice isn't helping."

Mikan shut up, but yelped like a puppy.

"If you really want to stop the wedding," Hotaru started after a while of silence, and Mikan bit her lip. "I suppose the only way is to be direct. When they're about to say their vows, you need to stand up and object."

Mikan's mouth flew open. "There's no way I can do that!"

"There's no other way." Hotaru snapped. "Your brother will definitely not postpone anything because Luna doesn't want to. If you object to their wedding, however, he might delay the wedding a little to talk things over with you or something."

She shook her head furiously. "I can't. I can't do that."

"I said _if_ you want to stop their wedding." Hotaru stated. "I didn't say you _have _to do it."

Hotaru checked the clock. "Come, it's almost two fifteen. Guests should start coming. We should go sit in the hall and wait."

Mikan could only nod helplessly.

* * *

Three o'clock and most of the guests were already seated and chatting happily. A buffet table was set up along the sides, and thankfully, there were no paparazzi.

The ceremony actually took much, much longer than Mikan expected. There were talent show-like events, games and a lot of other interesting things that the MCs made the audience participate in. So when the _actual _wedding ceremony started, it was already six.

But the 'saying vows' part was much shorter than anything else. Within about ten or fifteen minutes, the priest was already asking if they were willing to marry each other.

_Here,_ Mikan thought hysterically. _I need to stand up here._

"I do." Luna smiled sweetly an the priest nodded, before turning to face Natsume.

_It's now or never! _Mikan clenched her teeth and forced her legs to stand up, and the audience grew quiet as everyone turned to stare at her, the bridesmaid, the younger sister of the groom, and wondered what was going to happen.

Hotaru stared intently at Mikan from two seats away. Aoi, Kaoru and Ioran all looked at her with slight horror.

"Mikan-chan?" Luna whispered questionably and Natsume was silent as everyone stared at her.

_Say it. _Mikan sucked in a sharp breath. _Say it…say it…? Should I say it? How big of a consequence will my actions cause? _

Everything was silent. No one dared to breathe. Mikan was shaking as she stood there like a twig in the wind, and no one could see her expression as she looked down at her feet.

Then she looked up with a bright smile and everyone was slightly taken aback. "Congratulations, nii-chan, nee-san!" The audience smiled at those words. "I love you guys!"

"Aw," Luna smiled back just as happily, and turned back towards each other to say their vows, but the door slammed open with a bone-chilling bam and a man ran in, heading right towards Mikan.

"You little bitch!" He seethed as he grabbed her, and in everyone's horror, he was holding a knife. "You betrayed me."

"Kuonji!" Luna cried, but Natsume's body was already reacting on its own and he made his way towards her as quickly as he could.

"What are you doing to my daughter?" Ioran and Natsume both tried to pry Kuonji away from Mikan, but in the process he successfully cut her arm, and blood trickled down her arm at a dangerous rate.

"Mikan!" Natsume quickly made his way over and inspected her arm, as Kaoru wrapped her arm with her shawl.

"Kuonji, what on earth are you doing?" Luna screeched as she snatched the knife from his hands. "Have you gone mad? This is my wedding!"

"You're mine! Mine! You think you can go ahead and marry another man? We promised! We promised to be together!"

"Stop!" Luna began sobbing. "Stop, just stop! I loved you, Kuonji, but I love Natsume!"

"Love?" Kuonji threw his head back and laughed. "You don't love him at all. You said you loved me!"

"I did!" She cried. "I did, I did."

"I understand." Natsume interrupted as he stood up, his face emotionless and his eyes held nothing. "The wedding is off."

"No," Luna begged. "No, Natsume. Trust me! I really love you. I didn't know about any of this. Really!"

"I trust you." Natsume smiled at her. "Come, Luna. I need to talk to you."

"No!" Kuonji, interfered and Natsume gave him a reassuring nod.

"I just want to have a closure." Natsume stated. "Please do not worry, we will come back right away. If you hurt anyone else, I'll destroy you."

* * *

He led Luna behind the church and away from any eavesdropper.

"Natsume, please." She pleaded, her tears ruining her perfect makeup. "I love you."

"I know." He nods. "But you love him too."

"He was in the past." She cried. "You are my present and future!"

"You love me." Natsume stops her. "And I love you too. But we both knew from the first time we met that there was something else. Our love could never be fully complete. We could never fully love each other.

"Your missing piece has arrived to complete your picture. Please do not let go of this chance." He gave her a smile that made her cry even harder, but she nodded nonetheless.

They made their way back to the church and once they went back in, Luna immediately ran to Kuonji and she cried like there was no tomorrow.

Natsume made his way back to Mikan, Ruka by her side to treat the wound and Aoi looked like she was going to cry.

"O-Onii-chan." Mikan choked out. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…! I didn't want for this to happen, I swear—"

Mikan shut up as Natsume wrapped her in a warm embrace, careful not to touch her wound.

"It's ok." He whispered in her hair as he rubbed her back soothingly, and she calmed down. "Everything's ok now."

* * *

**So...what did you guys think? LUNA IS NOT THE ANTAGONIST. SURPRISED? ]:) If you're surprised, please review :)**

**I've been absent for a while and I'm sooo sowy *cries* But for those who continue to stick with me and support me, thank you so much and I love you guys 3 You don't know how much it means.**

**AND! SELFISH ADVERTISING BECAUSE I WANT TO: I made a tumblr for EXO! (Yes, I am absolutely _obsessed _and yes, have no life and yes, you can judge me *sob*) So I know there are billions and billions of websites out there that do EXO roleplaying, scenario and reaction stuff, etc. and I thought, omg those are so awesome and I love to write so WHY THE HELL NOT? It's like fanfiction, but BETTER because these are real people and stuff!**

**SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP IF YOU'RE AN EXO-L PLEASE CHECK OUT MY BLOG AND (MAYBE) COMMENT AND OMG IF YOU COULD TELL YOUR FELLOW EXO-L FRIENDS ABOUT THIS I WILL LOVE U TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.**

**This is the url (just erase the stars): kimjongdaely(*).(*)tumblr****(*)****.****(*)****com**

**(It's basically empty right now so it needs EXO-L's love~)**

**(And yes, as I have stated before in my other story, Bite, my bias is Chen and I am super biased and I will not like anyone else sorry, but I still love EXO as a whole)**

**You guys should really check out my blog, because advertising this blog is the only reason why I updated all my stories other than Competition because I have writers block for that and I'm just lazy :P**

**Ok I'm done. **

**Please R&amp;R (and check out my blog XD)!**


	13. Eventually

**YAS I'm back! Did anyone miss me? This chapter is _quite _interesting, and maybe a little bit too fast-paced...but meh. I hope you enjoy! Please don't be angry at me for not updating. X_X I'm sorry...**

* * *

_We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly._

* * *

For the next few days, everything went back to normal. No one spoke or even mentioned Luna's name. Everything was back to normal.

At least, that was what Natsume tried to convince his family.

He went to work normally, taught normally, continued to make jokes and play around with his siblings at home.

But there was something lost in his beautiful eyes and Mikan could see it. Maybe no one else can, but Mikan knows it's there. The hurt of losing someone you love. The sorrow for having a ruined love.

But it's only normal.

To be hurt.

Mikan's arm was still in the process of healing. Ioran and Kaoru forced her to stay home from school until it fully heals, which Mikan believes is completely unnecessary, but they were afraid her wound might reopen if she is not careful.

But she still woke up early to send Natsume off to work. Because that's what Mikan does. Because she's his precious little sister.

"Take care." Mikan said as she watched him put on his shoes, as he mumbled a soft, 'I'm leaving.'

Mikan watched as he straightened himself and opened the door.

Then he hesitated. He turned around and looked at her for the briefest second before something flashed in his eyes, and was gone as quickly as it came.

Mikan's heart thumped as she wondered if she really did see something, or if she just imagined it.

He leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead gently before swiftly shutting the door behind him.

She was left standing frozen next to the closed door, face a deep scarlet, heart pounding like it never did before, wondering what had just happened.

She held her forehead, where his lips touched her, and tried to breathe normally.

Never, in the 11 years of living with him, did he ever do such a thing to her.

* * *

"Mikan." Anna waved her hand in front of Mikan's blank face.

"Huh?" She blinked and let out a small smile. "What's up?"

"You're daydreaming." She sighed and leaned back against the sofa. "I'm worried about you, you know?"

"I know." Mikan laughed and gave her friend a tight hug. "Or else you wouldn't come visit directly after school."

"The girls wanted to come too." Anna said. "But there's a test coming up and they went to Hotaru for a tutor lesson. I skipped _just _because of you. I'm really worried about you."

"I'm _fine._" Mikan insisted. "There's nothing to worry about."

"How is Hyuuga-sensei?" Anna's question was barely above a whisper and she felt Mikan immediately stiffen besides her.

"He's…fine…I guess. But of course he's still hurt about the entire situation." Mikan explained slowly, trying to act like it wasn't a big deal. What happened that morning still burned in her mind.

"Then…how are you?" She asked, a little softer.

"I'm fine." Mikan echoed and Anna didn't seem convinced.

"Don't lie to me, Mikan." She shook her head. "You've been so out of it ever since you opened the door for me. If Nono, Sumire and Hotaru find out about this they'll definitely freak."

"Anna," Mikan stared right at her. "I'm fine. Really."

Anna finally gave up with a shrug. "Alright. If you say so." She stood up, grabbing her backpack. "I'm gonna go now, okay? I still need to study. Take care and get well soon."

"Thanks." Mikan smiled and walked her friend to the door. Just as Anna was putting on her sneakers, Mikan spoke, startling her. "Anna, is it normal for a brother to kiss his sister?"

"Uh, that depends?" Anna was unsure how to answer such a sudden and odd question. "It depends on where the brother kisses."

"Forehead?" Mikan said and Anna stared at her for a second.

"Hyuuga-sensei kissed your forehead?"

"No." Mikan sucks at lying.

"He kissed your forehead." Anna wasn't even asking anymore.

"He didn't. I'm just curious." Mikan insisted and Anna rolled her eyes.

"He did. You're so bad at lying, Mikan." Anna repositioned her backpack on her shoulder. "Well, I guess it's _kind_ of weird for him to do that since you guys are adopted. But honestly, it's not abnormal for siblings to kiss each other on the forehead or cheeks. I wouldn't worry to much."

Mikan nodded.

Anna paused and let out a sly smile. "So _that's _why you're so out of it."

"For the nth time, Anna! He didn't!" Mikan was red now, and Anna merely laughed as she headed out the door.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say. Get well soon, okay? See you!" She waved as the door closed behind her. Mikan huffed.

* * *

"Ioran!" Kaoru yelled with her hands against her hips. "Why are there bottles of alcohol on the dining table? I thought I told you that you shouldn't drink anymore!"

Ioran came down the stairs, changed from his suit, and let out a soft laugh as he sat at the dining table. "Oh, one of my clients gave me this. A drink once in a while is fine."

Mikan wrinkled her nose at the smell of strong alcohol as Ioran poured himself a glass.

"Natsume, want to join me?" Ioran held up a glass as Natsume walked by and Natsume nodded, taking a seat opposite to him.

_"Ioran," _Kaoru said strictly. "Don't get Natsume into your bad habits!"

"Natsume's great at self-control." Ioran argued. "Plus, I think it's fine to have a glass or two once in a while."

"It's fine, mom." Natsume said and Koaru made her way to the kitchen with a huff, mumbling about how they never listen.

Mikan didn't know if having him drink was a good thing. Alcohol could make someone forget about their problems, and yet it can also amplify their negative emotions.

But Mikan stayed silent and watched as Natsume downed numerous glasses.

* * *

"Oh dear," Kaoru put her hand to her cheek as she stared at Natsume, who slumped on the table. "How rare, for Natsume to get drunk."

"Well, he's had a lot on his mind recently." Ioran gave him an affectionate pat on the head, though Natsume didn't even react to it. It seemed like he fell asleep.

"Mikan, honey, can you take your brother to his room?" Kaoru asked as she dragged Ioran to the kitchen. "Your dad and I need to clean the dishes and your sister is doing homework."

Mikan responded with a long _'hai'_ before bouncing off her chair and pulling Natsume up by his arm.

"Come on, nii-chan, let's get you to your room." Mikan huffed as she pulled his chair out, swung his arm over her shoulder, and hoisted him up with all her might. Stumbling, she slowly dragged her way to the staircase and up.

"Ugh. Nii-chan, walk, for heaven's sake!" She screeched as she nearly lost her footing. "You're _so _heavy!" Carrying a grown man up the stairs is indeed hard work for a sixteen year old girl.

"...Don't..." Mikan heard Natsume murmur quietly, his words incomprehensible.

"Huh?" Mikan asked, slightly annoyed now. "Onii-chan, if you're awake, please walk by yourself." All of a sudden, Natsume pulled his arm back and pushed Mikan against the wall, making her yelp in pain at the contact.

"Don't call me that." His voice was low and menacing, his eyes blazed an angry dark crimson, and something more—something sadder.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Mikan growled, clutching her aching shoulder. "That _hurt_."

"Don't call me that." He whispered again and then grabbed her wrist, pulling her into his arms, his lips slanting over hers in a desperate kiss.

Shocked and surprised, Mikan froze in his arms, eyes wide and hands clutching his shirt in attempt to do...something.

But then tears welled up in her eyes as all the love she held for him all these years flooded over her like a giant wave of emotions. She clutched his shirt harder as she pulled him more towards her, closing her eyes, letting her tears stream down her face.

Natsume parted her lips with his tongue as she kissed him back so sweetly. She was so intoxicating—her scent, her taste—even worse than any drug.

He wanted this so badly, to kiss her like this, to have her hands clutching onto him, to be able to love her with all his heart.

He broke away for a second before capturing her lips again, even more desperate than before. He pulled her so tightly against him he was scared she would break, but he couldn't stop. Her lips moving against his, her tongue grazing his—he couldn't stop.

But then his eyes snapped open, his heart pounding a mile a second, his hands shaking. _What was he doing? _He instantly pulled away, staring at her red face with absolute horror. _What had he done? _ Panic choked him in the throat as he pushed her away, mumbling something about going to sleep, and quickly escaped to his room, slamming the door and locking it.

He slumped on his bed, his arm lay over his eyes as he focused on breathing, hearing the blood pound in his ears.

_What was he doing?_

* * *

Mikan was shaken to the very core. She could hardly stand properly, her legs turned into jelly. She slowly slid onto the floor, her heart hammering.

_What just happened?_

Natsume kissed her. Surely it wasn't a dream. It was too real to be a dream. She could still smell the lingering alcohol from his lips.

She was shaking. She was so scared and confused, she didn't know what to do. She could only run to her room and slam the door, her head spinning.

She searched for her phone she had carelessly thrown on her bed earlier.

Mikan dialed Hotaru's number.

_"Hello?" _As ever, Hotaru is quick to answer. One of the many reasons why Mikan liked talking to Hotaru most out of their group.

"Hotaru, help." Mikan croaked as she crawled into a tight ball on her bed.

_"What happened now?" _Hotaru sighed on the other end, obviously tired of hearing all her complaints and whines.

"Onii-chan kissed me." Mikan whispered, almost as if she didn't want to say those sinful words. "He kissed me, Hotaru."

_"…What do you mean by that?" _Hotaru's voice is slightly calmer, less annoyed. She's all ears.

"Just now…" Mikan stumbled with words. "He was drunk…and…and…I was helping him up the stairs…then he—he—he pushed me against the wall and just…kissed me."

_"You're all over the place." _Hotaru said curtly. _"But I think I get it. Did he say anything?"_

"He kept saying 'don't call me that.' Hotaru, I'm so confused. What do I do?" Mikan is on the verge of tears right now.

_"You idiot."_ Hotaru is ruthless as ever.

"Hotaru!" Mikan cried, sniffing. "Now's not the time to call me names. I'm so, so lost."

_"You should think about those words. Why he did that. You love him, don't you?"_ Hotaru sighed and Mikan started shaking her head helplessly.

"I don't understand. If I understood, I wouldn't have called you!" Mikan said desperately. "And of course I love him. But I can't! I'm not supposed to!"

_"If you can love him,"_ Hotaru's voice became quieter, gentler. _"Why can't he?"_

"I don't understand." Mikan continued sniffing.

_"That's why I said you're an idiot."_ Hotaru sighed. _"Idiot."_

"Hotaru." Mikan groans. "You're not helping."

_"I can't possibly help. I'm an outsider." _Hotaru states coldly._ "But it's okay even if you don't understand right now. You will. Soon." _Then she hung up without another word. Mikan is even more confused. If she knew this would happen, she would have called Anna or Nono or Sumire—anyone but the intelligent and mysterious Hotaru Imai.

Mikan falls backwards on her bed, burying herself under the covers and tried to sleep it all away.

* * *

Hotaru stares at her phone even after she hung up. She shakes her head at the oblivious Mikan.

"She's really an idiot." She continued typing her essay. "I feel bad for Hyuuga." She pauses, the key making a loud click. "Well, I guess he kind of deserves it, for hurting her."

She closed her eyes and leaned back against her chair, taking a short break. "But those two…will definitely figure it out."

Hotaru let's out a rare smile as she straightens herself and continues typing. "Eventually."

* * *

**So how was it? Was it interesting? Were you expecting this? I bet you weren't, hehe. Comments, critics, concerns, questions, suggestions are always, always welcome. Please tell me your thoughts!**

**Please R&amp;R! **


	14. Encounters

**I. AM. BACK! Oh my gosh, it's been such a long time. When was the last time I updated? December 9, 2016. So about three months? I really missed writing these stories...Although they give me writer's block...I've been spending all my time writing on Tumblr these days...Sorry ;(**

**Anyways, this chapter has some new advancements! Hope you guys enjoy~**

* * *

_"Waiting for answers is like waiting for a thunderstorm...you can see it coming...you can predict it...but you never truly know how hard the rain will come down...and whether you'll dance in it or cry."_

* * *

Mikan shifted uncomfortably in her seat, the only sound was the ticking of the clock in Natsume's office as she stared intently at her hands folded on her lap.

"Mikan," Natsume started softly, taking off his working glasses and massaging the bridge between his eyes with a sigh. "I just want to say that I'm really sorry for what happened last week."

"It's fine." Mikan managed to choke out. "I mean, you were drunk and you probably thought I was Koizumi-nee-san or something—" She was blabbering now.

"Yes," he drawled. "I was drunk. Please forget about it, and please stop avoiding me."

"I wasn't—" She was cut off by his sharp glare.

"Bullshit." He rarely curses. "You lock yourself in your room when I'm home and refuse to look or talk to me. If that's not avoiding, I don't know what is."

Mikan flinched in her seat as she looked down again. Then after a second, she nodded slowly, then more vigorously. "Ok, but only if you buy me ice-cream tonight."

"Deal." He grinned.

* * *

Mikan stretched as she made her way out of the office and into the warm stream of sunlight, glad to have mended her relationship with her brother.

That's right, it's not such a big deal.

He just kissed her; it was just a kiss.

Mikan groaned and shook her head vigorously. No! She can't let it bother her; he only did it because he was drunk. Nothing else. Thinking too much will only hurt herself.

Without watching where she was going, she collided into a small body.

"Oh my goodness!" She gasped in horror as she quickly helped the child up. "I'm so, so sorry. Are you alright?"

She thought he would cry. But his face was expressionless as he simply took her hand and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "I'm fine, onee-san."

"I'm sorry." Mikan said again, kneeling down so she was the same height as him. "It's getting late, why are you still at school?"

"I'm waiting for my mommy." He told her. "She's late."

"Oh," Mikan smiled brightly and held out her hand for him. "Well, how about onee-san waits with you? You look lonely."

"I'm not lonely." He said curtly, but took her hand anyways. Mikan stifled a laugh.

"What's your name?" She asked as she led him to a bench near a Sakura tree.

"Youichi Hijiri." He answered as he sat down next to her, his small legs swinging on the bench.

"How old are you?" Mikan asked again, gazing at how beautiful the boy really is. His silver hair glowed under the warm sunlight and his grey-blue eyes were cool and beautiful.

"Four." He said, tilting his head up just in time for a leaf to fall onto his head. She giggled and help him take it off.

"What are you doing after school?" Mikan started kicking her feet as well, following Youichi as she continued to look at him. For some reason, being with him made her feel content and happy; peaceful. It felt like she knew him for a long time, a familiarity she couldn't quite explain.

"Mommy doesn't allow me to go home by myself." He crossed his arms cutely as a sign of frustration. "She says I'm too little. I'm big! And she's always late." The end became a whisper, his eyes downcast onto the dirt underneath his feet.

She felt a sense of sorrow seeing that face. She grabbed his small hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm sure mommy is just really busy." Mikan reassured him and he nodded, his large eyes turned towards her. It was weird, it felt as if those eyes of a child could see through everything.

Mikan quickly let go of his hand, suddenly feeling very conscious, knowing she had a sin deep inside of her.

He continued to stare at her for a moment, before he hopped off and waved at her. "Mommy's here! I have to go now."

Mikan had no idea where he saw his mother, but he trotted off in the direction of the gates and Mikan waved, smiling. She saw him look back for a moment, giving her another wave, before he disappeared behind the gates.

Mikan stood up and stretched again. It was a beautiful day.

"What are you still doing here?" Mikan jumped and twirled around to see a tired-looking Natsume. She beamed at him, hands clasped behind her back.

"Nothing. I just met a cute little boy." Mikan grinned as Natsume let out a sigh.

"That's nice. Let's go home before I collapse." Natsume motioned for her to follow him and she skipped after him, suddenly feeling much happier and lighter.

"Sensei, it seems like you have a lot of things to grade." Mikan remarked as she climbed into his car and he wrinkled his nose.

"Too many." He sighed again.

"Then you should give us less homework." Mikan rolled her eyes as he started the car, letting out a snicker.

"You wish." He turned the corner. "By the way, you said you met a little boy?"

* * *

"Youichi, you're staying after school again?" Mikan asked as she went up to the little boy who was sitting at the same bench he and Mikan sat at yesterday.

He nodded. "Mommy's busy today again."

"Does your mommy work?" She took a seat next to him and he nodded again.

"Daddy and mommy both work. They're always very busy." His voice was soft but calm and his eyes looked straight ahead.

Mikan felt sad for him, but she wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel that way. He didn't look sad, but the way he said it was something sadder.

It's like he didn't _know_ how much his parents loves him and how much he misses them.

"You-chan," She grabbed his small hands just like she did yesterday and gave it a tight squeeze. "Can I call you that?"

His eyes were wide in surprise, but he slowly nodded.

She smiled and continued. "You know? I'm sure your parents love you very much. They're working hard for you, so you need to be a good boy and wait for them, okay?"

He nods, his eyes sparkled under the sunlight and she saw something that wasn't there before. Happiness.

"Onee-san?" He called cutely and Mikan couldn't help but smile. "Will you be here everyday?"

"Does You-chan want me to?" Mikan asked back and he nodded vigorously, his eyes big and begging.

Mikan laughs before she pulled the boy into her arms.

Ten more minutes passed before Youichi hopped off the bench and waved Mikan goodbye again. After seeing his small form disappear behind the gates, Mikan made her way to Natsume's office, seeing if he was ready to leave.

"Nii-chan?" Mikan poked her head through the door only to see Natsume buried in a mountain of paperwork. "Um, are you ready to leave?"

"No." He grumbled as he finally leaned back to stretch. "I don't think I can go home in time for dinner. Help me tell mom and dad."

"Ok." Mikan nodded. "Bye! Good luck with grading."

"Bye." He waved half-heartedly before going back to his work. Mikan let out a giggle as she silently closed the office door and made her way out of the school.

The sun was almost setting. The streets were quiet with only a few people walking around.

That's when Mikan met her again.

Luna.

* * *

"Oh, what a surprise." Luna let out a smile as she sees Mikan. Mikan's eyes were wide, not expecting the encounter in the least.

"K-Koizumi-nee-san…" She squeaked and Luna giggled at the reaction.

"Please, Mikan-chan. Just call me Luna." Her eyes softened and Mikan gulped.

"L-Luna-san." She said. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Luna looked surprised. "Oh, I was just making my way home." She then realized something. "Oh that's right, this is around where your school is."

Mikan nodded.

"I know you probably don't want to see me." Luna started, her voice soft. "But this is actually a great opportunity. I always wanted to sit down and have a chat with you." She flashed Mikan a smile. "Are you willing to sit down somewhere with me for a chat?"

Mikan bit her lip skeptically, unsure of what to do. She didn't really want to talk with Luna, but on the other hand, she really did.

Finally, she let out a sigh and nodded. "I'll call my parents and tell them I'll be home late."

"Sure." Luna nodded gratefully.

The two of them enter a nearby café and sat at a table. Mikan gulped nervously, avoiding Luna's keen eyes.

"W-Why did you want to talk to me?" She squeaked and Luna let out a tight smile before dropping her eyes.

"How is Natsume?" Her voice was soft and Mikan gulped at the straightforward question.

"Good…" Mikan knew he wasn't fully over her. What was she supposed to say?

"How about you?" Luna asked, eyeing Mikan like a hawk. Mikan shrunk in her seat at the intense gaze.

"M-Me?" She asked, her eyes flying everywhere. "I-I'm good?"

"Don't lie to me." Luna's harsh tone made Mikan jump in shock. "There's no need to lie to me."

"I don't understand." Mikan cocked her head sideways and shook her head. Luna sighed as she lifted her hand up, flashing Mikan her new ring.

"Mikan-chan, look." She wiggled her fingers happily. "I'm engaged now. To the right person. You love Natsume, right? You should be with him."

Mikan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at Luna's words. She knew! "When did you—"

"It's women's intuition," Luna waved her off. "I knew since I first laid my eyes on you three and a half years ago."

Mikan gasped, completely shocked, before her face slowly went red in embarrassment and she slumped onto the table, trying to hide her face. "I want to die."

"Don't be stupid." Luna said gently, tapping her on the head. "I know that you're legally his 'sister,' but you're only adopted. Once you turn 18 you can reverse the adoption. Honestly, your parents or even your brother can reverse the adoption right now if they wanted."

"There's no excuse." Mikan sighed. "Reversing adoptions aren't that easy. You need a good excuse. For example, if I found my real parents, I would have a good excuse." She let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, as if _that _will ever happen. So no, they can't reverse my adoption now. I don't have anything to complain about either."

Mikan shook her head before letting out a smile. "It's fine, though. I'm more than happy to be _just _his sister. I'm older now. I understand things better."

"Mikan-chan…" Luna gave her a sad look, almost pained. "Y-You don't understand."

"About what?" Mikan wrinkled her nose and she saw Luna caress her engagement ring.

"We…couldn't get married. Natsume and I, we wouldn't have been able to live together anyways. If we really got married, one day we would have divorced. I'm sure of this." Luna said without a hint of doubt and Mikan looked at her oddly.

"Why? You and onii-san were so close—"

"Because," Luna intervened, looking Mikan straight in the eye. "Because I _love _Kuonji. Yes, I loved Natsume, but it was different. It…It wasn't the type of love that I would sacrifice for. It wasn't _deep._" She managed to smile even though her expression was sullen. "And Natsume…He didn't love me like that either. In fact, I think he loved me less than I loved him."

Mikan shook her head in disagreement. "Natsume-nii-san really _did _love you—"

"That can't be." Luna said sternly, making Mikan shut up instantly. "That's because he loves _you._"

* * *

**TA DA! Did that make up for my absence? Or no because it's kinda a cliffhanger? Hehe next chapter might be interesting... Comments, critics, suggestions are always welcome!**

**Please R&amp;R!**


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